Season and Field preparation

Soil

Sandy loam rich in organic matter with good drainage and pH range of 6.5 - 7.5.

Season of sowing

November to February. Sow the seeds @ 3.0 kg/ha after treating with Trichoderma viride @ 4g or Pseudomonas fluroscens @ 10 g or carbendazim @ 2g/kg of seed on one side of the channel giving a spacing of 0.6 m between hills. Thin the seedlings after 15 days, to maintain two per hill.

Preparation of field

Plough the field to a fine tilth and form long channels at 2.5 m apart.

Irrigation

Irrigate the field before dibbling the seeds and thereafter once in a week.

Application of fertilizers

Apply FYM 20 t/ha, NPK 40:60:30 kg/ha as basal and N @ 40 kg/ha 30 days after sowing. Apply Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria @ 2 kg/ha and Pseudomonas @ 2.5 kg/ha along with FYM 50 kg and neem cake 100 kg before last ploughing.

Nursery preparation

Nursery for muskmelon can be prepared either with polythene bags of 200 gauge, 10 diameter and 15 cm height size or through protrays under protected nursery. Use protrays, each having 98 cells for raising seedlings. Transplant about 12 day’s old seedlings in the main field.

Drip irrigation

Install drip system with main and sub-main pipes and place the inline lateral tubes at an interval of 1.5m. Place the drippers in lateral tubes are at an interval of 60 cm and 50 cm spacing with 4 LPH and 3.5 LPH capacities respectively.

Sowing

Around 250 protrays are required for the production of 23,334 (22,223 + 5%) seedlings, which are required for one hectare at spacing of 1.5 m x 30 cm in a raised bed single row system. Raise beds of 120 cm width at an interval of 30 cm and place the laterals at the centre of each bed. Direct sowing or transplanting is done at a spacing of 1.5 m along the laterals and 30 cm interval in the raised bed single row system, using ropes marked at 30 cm spacing.

Fertigation

Apply a dose of 200:100:100 kg NPK/ha throughout the cropping period through split application.

After cultivation

Hoe and weed thrice