Everything you need to know about round melon cultivation, production and harvest. learn about:- 1. Introduction to Round Melon 2. Origin and Distribution of Round Melon 3. Composition and Uses 4. Climate Required for Cultivation 5. Soil Required for Cultivation 6. Sowing Time 7. Manurial Requirement for Cultivation 8. Irrigation Requirement for Cultivation 9. Intercultural Operations and Few Others.
Contents:
- Introduction to Round Melon
- Origin and Distribution of Round Melon
- Composition and Uses of Round Melon
- Climate Required for Cultivating Round Melon
- Soil Required for Cultivating Round Melon
- Sowing Time of Round Melon Seeds
- Manurial Requirement for Round Melon Cultivation
- Irrigation Requirement for Round Melon Cultivation
- Intercultural Operations of Round Melon
- Harvesting and Yielding of Round Melon
- Cultivated Varieties of Round Melon
1. Introduction
to Round Melon:
Round melon, a diffuse annual creeping or climbing plant having light green hairy leaves, is popularly known as squash melon. It bears small pale or dark green colour fruit having hairs or sometimes smooth with blackish seeds. It is also known with the local names like tinda, dilpasand, tindu, tendsi, tendus, etc. in different parts of the country, and commercially grown in India and Pakistan. It is most popular summer vegetable in North India, especially in the Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Round melon is commonly a monoecious plant that bears staminate and pistillate flowers on separate nodes, however, few andromonoecious cultivars also exist in nature, producing perfect as well as staminate flowers on the same plant but on separate positions. Flowers are small, less showy, and located solitary. The pistillate flowers normally occur in every seventh leaf axil, while staminate flowers on the plant mostly occupy the intervening axils. The sex ratio staminate to pistillate flowers varies 9:1 to 22:1.
Male flower appear first then female flowers. Anthesis takes place in morning from 6.00 to 8.30 a.m., and anther dehiscence starts one hour before anthesis and continues until 7.00 a.m. Pollen is visually evident in sticky masses adhering to anther. The stigma becomes receptive two hours before to three hours after anthesis.
As the day advances and temperature increases, stigmatic fluid starts drying, and as a result, stigma becomes non-receptive. Maximum fruit set has been noticed during first hour after anthesis. Honeybees are the main pollinating agent. Breeding round melon for quality and yield is an utmost need of the day for improvement of the crop.
2. Origin and Distribution
of Round Melon:
This crop is indigenous of India. This was originally thought to be a subspecies of watermelon as Citrullus vulgaris var. fistulosus (Stocks) Chakra and later raised to an independent species as Citrullus fistulosus Stocks. Several known botanists like Pangalo (1930, 1944), Guljaev (1963), Trivedi and Roy (1970) and Dutta and Nath (1970) suggested that this taxon was long back considered to be Citrullus lanatus but it should be placed in a separate genus Praecitrullus much earlier so the present accepted botanical name is Praecitrullus fistulosus Pang.
The relationship with watermelon has been conclusively disproved by cytogenetical studies of Shimotsuma (1963) and Khoshoo (1955). In some places, it is mentioned that round melon is more related to muskmelon owing to same chromosome number. They recommended that it could be taken out of the genus Citrullus since it is not at all found in their original home, i.e., Africa.
The chromosome number of round melon (2n = 24) is different from that of watermelon (2n = 22), even though, no marked morphological differences were found for dimensions among Citrullus lanatus, C. colocynthis and Praecitrullus fistulosus. Electrophoretic analysis of 26 enzyme-coding genes was conducted on accessions of three Citrullus species and the related Praecitrullus fistulosus [Citrullus vulgaris var. fistulosus] and Acanthosicyos naudinianus and an isozyme phylogeny was constructed based on pair wise measurements of genetic distance.
In this scheme, P. fistulosus and A. naudinianus form two distinct out groups to Citrullus, which is characterized by two main cluster. The first includes two Citrullus colocynthis races, and the second Citrullus lanatus and Citrullus Ianatus var. citroides, which are more closely related to each other than they are to Citrullus ecirrhosus. Citrullus lanatus var. citroides is regarded as the progenitor of cultivated Citrullus lanatus.
The isozyme phylogeny was consistent with the variability in six seed protein bands and with the cross-ability relations among the examined species. Praecitrullus fistulosus (X = 12) roots and hypocotyls were subjected to isozyme analysis to investigate its affinities with Citrullus and Cucumis species.
Seven peroxidase isozymes differed in electrophoretic mobility from six in Citrullus lanatus and eight in Cucumis melo. Three bands of glutamate aloacetate transaminase [aspartate aminotransferase] of Praecitrullus fistulosus were different from two in Citrullus and four in Cucumis, which support the separation of Praecitrullus into a discrete genus.
Similarly, trichomal studies were also conducted to know the relationship among Cucumis, Citrullus, and Praecitrullus. Clear-cut histological differences between Citrullus lanatus ssp. mucosospermus and the other species studied also lend support to the view that it is distinct specie (Citrullus mucosospermus).
Forms of Citrullus colocynthis with fruits free from bitter principle are intermediate between Citrullus colocynthis and watermelon and may be hybrids. Citrullus colocynthis shows resemblances to Citrullus ecirrhosus, Citrullus naudinianus to the genera Benincasa and Acanthosicyos, on the other hand, certain resemblances between Praecitrullus fistulosus and the watermelon are regarded as fortuitous, but no close resemblance was found between Citrullus and Cucumis species.
3. Composition and Uses of Round Melon:
Composition:
Edible tender fruits of round melon at cooking stage provide a fair amount of carbohydrates, protein, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin A, and C. The nutritional composition of fruit is being given in Table 10.1.
Uses:
The immature, tender, and light green fruits of Indian melon are used as a cooked, boiled, and fried vegetable curry and are pickled or candied. The seeds after removing seed coat are roasted or fried and eaten as a snack.
As a medicinal value, the fruits are also considered good for dry cough and improving blood circulation in the body. Its consumption gives cooling effect to the body.
4. Climate Required for Cultivating Round Melon
:
Round melon is a warm season vegetable crop, and can be grown successfully in regions where the temperature ranges from 20° to 35°C. A temperature of 27° to 30°C is most optimal for its seed germination, and 30° to 35°C is the best for setting fruits since pollen germination takes place maximum at this temperature range. Being sensitive to low temperature its cultivation is not possible below 20°C. It has good tolerance to low humidity.
Thus, an annual rainfall of 900-1300 mm is sufficient for its cultivation. The sex expression and sex ratio in round melon are influenced by the climatic components. The crop produces female flowers more in rainy season than the crop grown in summer season due to mild temperature and short day conditions. It proves the seasonal effects on sex ratio. High temperature favors femaleness in round melon but due to high temperature, the receptivity of stigma is seized.
5. Soil Required for Cultivating Round Melon
:
The crop being hardy can be grown on a wide range of soils, however, sandy loam or loam soils rich in organic matter are ideal for its cultivation. Round melon plant is very sensitive to water logging conditions, hence, low lying areas prone to water logging should be avoided for its cultivation. Organic matter rich soils with good drainage facility are considered most suitable for better harvest.
Soils with a pH reaction between 6.5 and 7.5 are ideal for its cultivation. The riverbed soils also support this crop very well for growth, early fruiting, and total yield. The land should be thoroughly prepared by repeated deep ploughing in order to get fine tilth for the preparation of seedbeds and retention of moisture for longer period.
6. Sowing Time of Round Melon Seeds:
Round melon is a short duration crop. Under north Indian conditions, generally, two crops of round melon can be taken in a year, one in spring-summer and other in rainy season. For spring- summer crop, the seeds are sown in the month of February and March, and for rainy season crop, in June and July. In southern parts of India, also two crops are taken viz., spring-summer crop, which is sown in the month of December-January and rainy season crop in June-July.
In hilly regions of north India, sowing is done in May-June and could be continued up to July. In western India for summer crop, sowing is done in December-January, and for rainy season crop, sowing is done in the month of July-August.
In general, for the sowing of a hectare land area 3.5 kg seeds are sufficient if two-seeds per hill are sown on both the edges of furrow. Now a day, most of the seeds are being sold in the market after providing appropriate chemical treatment. If seeds have not been treated earlier, may be treated with Captan or Thiram @ 3 g per kg seeds. Seed treatment with Derosal (carbendazim) @ 2 g/kg seed is quite helpful in controlling the disease in early crop season.
Among cucurbits, the seed coat of round melon seeds is comparatively hard, and seeds take more time to germinate in the field, thus, it is advisable to soak the seeds in water for about 24 hours before sowing, however, the field should have sufficient moisture for better establishment while soaked seeds are sown.
Nursery Raising for Early Spring-Summer Crop:
Sometimes, it is not possible to sow seeds in time directly in main field due to natural calamities, like low temperature, excess or unwanted rain, hailstorm, or accommodation of previously growing crop. In such conditions, timely nursery of round melon may be raised in limited area under protected conditions and strict supervision, and the crop can be raised through transplanting. For raising nursery, polyethylene planting bags/tubes of 100 gauge having 15 × 10 cm size are used.
These polyethylene bags are filled with equal amount of soil, sand and well decomposed farmyard manure or compost, however, before filling 4-5 holes on upper side and 2-3 holes in bottom of bags are punched for providing aeration to the roots and to drain out the excess water. Well- composted sawdust (4 month old) can also be used for seedling production. In each bag, 2-3 seeds are sown at a depth of 2.5 cm, and a light irrigation is given with rose can.
Seedlings of about 45-50 days are usually transplanted. During transplanting, the polyethylene bags are removed carefully giving a slit vertically with sharp blade or knife. Generally, transplanting should be done in evening, with whole soil ball. Just after transplanting, light irrigation is essential so that the plants are established well in the main field.
Round melon being a short-duration and widely adapted to the climatic conditions is gown in different parts of the country in different seasons.
The following methods are adopted for the sowing/planting of round melon to get the good crop:
In north Indian plains, generally, its cultivation is done on flat beds during spring-summer season. In this method, shallow pits of 45× 45 × 30 cm size are dug at a distance of 1.2-1.5 m in well-prepared field. Trenches/furrows of 30-35 cm depth and 50-55 cm width are enough for supplying irrigation and draining out the excess water.
Open pits are filled with a mixture of soil and well-decomposed/vermi-compost or farmyard manure @ 4-5 kg and neem cake 100 g per pit. Fertilizers like urea 40 g, single super phosphate 100 g, muriate of potash 70 g and Furadan 2 g per pit should be incorporated during filling of pits. Generally, three to four seeds are sown in each pit.
Raised bed sowing/transplanting systems are adopted during rainy and summer season both to protect the crop from the excess water and to retain the water nearby the plants. The raised beds of 60 × 45 × 45 cm size are prepared in the field at a distance of 1.5-2.0 m. The depth of pits is kept 20-30 cm and width 40-50 cm.
The seeds are sown on both sides of furrows keeping a spacing of 40-50 cm between plants for harvesting better quality fruits. When raised beds are prepared during spring-summer, a spacing of 150 × 60 cm is quite optimum.
During rainy season, furrow- to-furrow distance should be kept 2.5-3.0 m due to more vigorous plant growth. Each pit is supplied with 4 kg farmyard manure and 100 g neem cake for better growth of plants. Fertilizers like urea 40 g, single super phosphate 100 g, muriate of potash 70 g and Furadan 2 g per pit should also be incorporated during filling of pits. In each pit, 2-3 seeds or sprouted seedlings are placed to ensure optimum plant population.
Raising crop in deep pits is quite common method adopted in the sandy soil or riverbeds where water retention is a major problem. Circular pits of 60-75 cm diameter are dug keeping 1.25 m distance between two pits. Each pit is filled with 6 kg farmyard manure, 50 g neem cake, 150 g diammonium phosphate, and 50 g potassium chloride. In this system, pits should not be above the ground level though kept lower to normal soil surface. Seeds are sown in these pits at the depth of 2.5 cm.
Mound method is quite common and useful in the area of high humidity and rainfall. In this method, mounds of 20-25 cm height are generally prepared at a distance of 2.0 m, and on each mound, 2 pre-germinated seeds are sown at a depth of 2.0 cm. Before seeding, each mound is essentially supplied with a mixture containing vermi-compost 4.0 kg, neem cake 100 g, urea 25 g, diammonium phosphate 50 g, single super phosphate 60 g and 50 g potassium chloride for better germination, aeration, growth of roots and retention of water.
Plant population density has an impact on overall plant growth and development of round melon. Plants are spaced 150 × 60 cm and 200 × 80 cm during spring-summer and rainy season, respectively. Increased plant density reduces vegetative growth. In general, 1500-2000 plants per hectare can be accommodated.
7. Manurial Requirement
for Round Melon Cultivation:
Indian melon responds well to organic manure and fertilizers application. It is advantageous to mix fully decomposed farmyard manure or compost @ 10-15 t/ha thoroughly into the soil during field preparation to obtain better yield.
Dhesi et al. (1964) found that increase in the levels of nitrogen increased the yield of Indian melon significantly but phosphorus and potash application did not exhibit any significant effect, however, higher yield was obtained with a combination of nitrogen 56 kg + phosphorus 28 kg + potash 28 kg per hectare. Mahakal et al. (1977) recommended nitrogen 75 kg, phosphorus 50 kg and potash 100 kg per hectare for getting higher yield on medium heavy soils.
Mangal et al. (1985) recommended application of nitrogen @ 40 kg/ha under Hisar conditions. Singh et al. (1983) reported highest mean seed yield of 4.58 q/ha from plants of Indian melon cv. Hisar-1 fertilizing with nitrogen 75 kg and phosphorus and potash each @ 30 kg/ha.
In general, urea 200 kg, single super phosphate 350 kg and muriate of potash 125 kg/ha are required for raising a healthy crop of Indian melon. Full amount of single super phosphate and muriate of potash and one-third of urea are applied as basal dose, and remaining amount of urea should be given in two equal splits 30 days after sowing and at the time of flowering as top dressing.
8. Irrigation Requirement
for Round Melon Cultivation:
Seeds of Indian melon are hard enough, hence, take longer time to germinate. Usually, germination is completed in about 10-12 days, depending on atmospheric temperature. However, if soil moisture paucity is being observed in the field, a light irrigation is applied for easier germination. At the time of sowing the field should have sufficient moisture.
The first irrigation is applied 15- 20 days after complete emergence of seedlings, and later, the irrigation should be given at 5-10 days interval, depending upon soil type and climatic conditions.
It has been observed that Indian melon requires frequent irrigation than other cucurbitaceous vegetable crops because of its shorter root length. In rainy season, generally, supplying irrigation is not essential if rains distribution is normal, however, during dry spell or due to failure of rains, irrigation is applied as per need of the crop.
After spreading of vines and just before flowering, a light irrigation to whole bed is provided during summer season, which creates favorable microclimate for flowering, fruit setting, and fruit development. Three critical stages identified for irrigation are initial vegetative growth stage, flowering stage, and fruit enlarging stage. Drip irrigation is quite useful as it improves fruit yield by 28%, reducing water requirement compared with furrow system.
9. Intercultural Operations of Round Melon:
i. Hoeing and Weeding:
Weeding and hoeing are important cultural practices, which affect the growth and development of crop considerably. It has been observed that 2-3 hand weedings are sufficient to keep the crop field weed-free for the entire cropping period. First weeding should be done 15-20 days after seed sowing, and later weedings are done as and when required.
For controlling weeds chemically, selective herbicides like Nitrofen @ 1.25 1/ha and Alachlor @ 2.5 1/ha or Pendimethalin 1.00 kg/ha may be applied as pre-emergence. One hand weeding may be supplemented for removing the late emerging weeds. Use of black polyethylene film mulch also helps in suppressing weeds.
Mulching not only improves the water retention capacity and soil temperature of sandy soils in winter but also improves the total yield (16-60%) and quality of Indian melon fruits. When mulch is used, fruiting starts 2-3 weeks early and continues for longer period.
Mulching with materials, like paddy straw, wheat straw, sugarcane trash, improve the number of fruits per plant and fresh weight per fruit and reduce the percentage of unmarketable fruits. The organic materials used for mulching also increase the soil organic matter content, and thereby, increase soil fertility particularly in infertile sandy soils through a phenomenon of decomposition at the end of the crop cycle.
iii. Use of Plant Growth Regulators:
Use of plant growth regulators has been reported beneficial for better seed germination, excellent crop growth and development, profuse flowering and fruiting, increasing yield, earliness, improving fruit quality, adoption in adverse climatic conditions and production of hybrid seeds. Plant growth regulators have been found influencing the sex expression and sex ratio in Indian melon.
Aqueous solution of maleic hydrazide (50 ppm) sprayed at 2- and 4-leaf stage stimulates vegetative growth, and elongation of main axis, increases femaleness, enhances bearing of female flowers at lower nodes, and improves yield by 50-60%. Besides, maleic hydrazide was found more effective in rainy season, producing 20-40 fruits/plant as against 10-13 fruits/plant in spring- summer season, however, the most important thing is that the plant growth regulators must be used in right quantity, at right stage of crop growth and at right time.
Spraying should preferably be done in late evening hours for better absorption of sprayed aqueous chemical solution. If weather is cloudy and rain is expected, spraying should be avoided since rains would wash the chemical away. Plant growth regulators must be procured from reliable source for their effectiveness.
10. Harvesting
and Yielding of Round Melon:
The picking of fruits depends upon the cultivars and season of sowing. In first flush, 1-2 fruits borne very early at basal nodes remain very small and hard so should be nipped off for allowing better vegetative growth of vine and getting more number of fruits. Fruits of only second flush should be allowed to develop. Early varieties start fruiting 45-50 days after sowing but medium and late fruiting varieties bear fruit 60-90 days after seeding. Fruits usually reach edible maturity in 6-8 days after fruit set.
At the time of harvesting, the fruits should be two- third of its full size, tender, and hairy with soft seeds since the tenderness and quality of fruits are judged by the presence of sharp and silky hairs persisting on the skin. Softness of the seeds inside the fruits is another decisive factor for judging tenderness.
Fruits are harvested from the vine with exerting a slight pressure of thumb on peduncle in such a way that pulling may not injure the fruit and vine as well. The consumers in the market do not prefer large-size fruits even if they are immature and soft; therefore, picking should be done at every alternate day in peak season and every third to fourth day late in the season.
The fruits after harvesting are carried to the packing station in smaller lots to avoid bruising during handling. All the deformed and damaged fruits are sorted out from the lot before the produce is subjected to grading, thereafter, the healthy fruits are graded according to their size since graded fruits fetch better price in the market than the un-graded or poorly graded fruits.
The most commonly used packaging material for the marketing of Indian melon is bamboo baskets, and wooden or plastic crates before shipping for marketing. Using appropriate cushioning material preferably paddy straw or waste paper with soft texture and low moisture content, the graded fruits is properly packed in baskets. For distant markets, even perforated cardboard boxes with fillers are used.
Fruits can be stored for 3-4 days without causing bruises to their surface in cool environment with frequent wetting the covering/packing material. Enough aeration is required between fruits to exhaust the heat liberated during respiration since fruits keep respiration continue even after harvest, otherwise, the fruits turn pale and become unmarketable.
For transporting the fruits, rack system should be preferred rather than dumping or heaping in carriage. The fruits because of high water content are likely to deteriorate early so should be transported and disposed off quickly to avoid the damage. Drying of Indian melon is also practiced.
Yield of crop depends on variety used, growing season, climatic conditions of growing region, sowing time, soil type, irrigation facilities and other cultural practices followed during cultivation, however, on an average, the yield of edible fruits varies from 80 to 120 q/ha.
11. Cultivated Varieties
of Round Melon:
Mostly local varieties/land races are grown in different parts of the country.
However, a number of improved varieties/hybrids have been developed by the various centers, which are described below:
An early variety highly tolerant to fruit fly developed at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore through a cross between local selection T-3-4 (Rajasthan) and T-8-2 (Punjab) following pedigree selection method is suitable for cultivation in summer season.
Fruits are round, light green with soft hairs and tender flesh at marketable stage with creamy flesh. Fruits are ready for harvest after 5-6 days of pollination. Total 8-10 pickings can be done. It gives an average yield of 95-100 q/ha in crop duration of 91-100 days.
A variety with vigorous plant growth developed at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana through a selection from locally grown material and popularized for commercial cultivation bears 8-10 fruits per vine. Fruits are Hattish round, medium in size with a single fruit weight of 50 g and light green in colour.
The surface of fruit is shining and pubescent. Its flesh is white, soft, less seedy, tender, and good in cooking quality. It takes about 60 days from sowing to attain marketable maturity and yields about 60-80 q/ha under ideal conditions.
A variety with vigorous plant growth developed at Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. Plants are spreading in nature and bear medium size green fruits. First picking can be done 50-58 days after sowing, and its average yield is around 230-240 q/ha.
A variety with dark green foliage developed at Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner through a selection made from high yielding local material bears early fruits from 5th node onwards of the plant. Fruits are green in colour, round and medium in size. Average yield is around 150-175 q/ha.
A variety with normal plant spread bears medium-size green colour fruits with soft hairs. It is suitable for cultivation as sole and as an intercrop. First harvesting can be done 65-70 days after sowing. Its average yield is 60-75 q/ha.
6. Annamalai Tinda (Tamil Nadu Selection):
A variety with vigorous plant growth and broader and dark green leaves is suitable for cultivation in spring-summer and Kharif season. Fruits are light green and medium in size. Fruits of this variety turn flattish towards seed maturity. It gives an average yield of 210 q/ha under ideal conditions.