Watermelon is a warm-season, frost-sensitive crop that requires a relatively long growing season from 75 to 120 days depending on the cultivar and environment. The plant is best grown in the month of October to January; however, in the upland and on hillsides, watermelon can be grown during the rainy months.
Watermelon can be grown on a variety of soil types. Ideal soil for watermelon is well-drained, fertile, light soil, which is enriched with manure or compost with pH range from 6.0 to 7.0.
Soil compaction restricts root growth, so friable, deep and well drained sandy loams are preferred for watermelon production.
In the lowland, sandy-loam and silly-loam are ideal soils for watermelon. In the hillsides and upland, sandy and stony soils will produce quality harvest of watermelon when these are enriched with organic matter.
Watermelons can be grown without irrigation or mulch but this is not recommended for commercial production because most areas experience water deficits sometime during the growing season that lower yields and reduce fruit quality.
Continuous cropping of the same land should be avoided. Rotation once every 4-6 years is desirable and once every 10 or more years of Fusarium and nematodes are a problem.
Ideal soil for watermelon
