No abstract

A study was conducted at the teaching and research farm of the Faculty of Bioresources and Food Industry at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) with an objective of determining the best rates for vermicompost application on red seedless watermelon var. Crimson sweet. In this research, watermelon crimson red flesh seedless variety was used as planting materials and different application rates of vermicompost were the major factor of the experiment. The research was a potted layout experiment in a completely randomized design (CRD). Sixteen (16) pots were randomly arranged in a nursery and 10 kg of BRIS soil was added in to each pot until 10 cm of soil furrow slice was achieved. Application of vermicompost at the rates of 5, 10, 15, 20 t ha-1 and untreated control were applied, with four replications each, single plant was taken as an experimental unit from each replicate. Vermicompost treatment at the rate of 15 t ha-1 increased stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and the least days required to 50% flowering was significantly different compared with other treatments and control. The vermicompost application at the rate of 20 t ha-1 positively influences leaf area, net photosynthetic rate, internal carbon dioxide, number of flowers and fruits weight of watermelon. This findings also revealed that quality properties of watermelon like rind thickeness, TSS, pH, anthocyanin, juice and ash contents were improved with the application rate of 20 t ha-1. Vermicompost application rate of 15-20 t ha-1 is recommended for watermelon production.

Organic fertilisers are of biological origin and the amount of nutrients they produce varies greatly. Besides providing the essential macro and micro nutrients, they also provide an array of plant growth-promoting substances. Organic agronomy is a relatively recent technique of farming in developed countries. While several studies were conducted on the impact of organic fertilisers on soil properties and crop production, further research is needed to determine comparative results between organic fertilisers. This paper aims to review some of the influences and impacts of poultry manure, cow dung, goat manure, vermicomposter and seaweed extracts. Much-needed characteristics of numerous crops were enhanced with the appropriate application of these organic fertilisers. Organic fertilizer applications influences the increase of plant heights, vegetative growth, yields and yield attributes. The application of adequate fertilisers also influences the qualitative parameters and post-harvest traits of most crops. Selecting the best organic fertilisers at an optimal application rate that could be the best source of nutrient supplement in cultivating qualitative crops, is a gap that needs to bridge. Therefore, different application rates of the above organic fertilisers were also studied.

This study was designed to assess the effects of different types of organic matter on the quality and biochemical properties of red seedless watermelon. The research was a single factor experiment, which involved six (6) treatments and four (4) replications. Watermelon grown and harvested from five (5) different organic matter sources, namely; vermicompost (VC), poultry manure (PM), cow dung (CD),  goat dung (GD),  and moringa leaf extract (MLE), at the rates of 10 ton, 20 ton, 30 ton, 30 ton, and 3000 L ha-1, respectively, were used in this study. The results revealed that the treatment of vermicompost improved the chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence, stomatal conductance, internal carbon dioxide, net photosynthetic rate, fruit weight and mineral nutrient content of watermelon. The application of cow dung reduced the rind thickness and increased the TSS and antioxidant activity of the watermelon.  The goat dung treatment significantly affected fruit size, juice content and the pH content of the watermelon’s fruit juice. The poultry manure (PM) and moringa extract (MLE) treatments resulted in the highest anthocyanin content of all the watermelon. Although all the organic matter, in their unique ways, improved the quality of red seedless watermelon, the study shows that the vermicompost application had better growth, yield and improvement in the quality of watermelon.

Increased crop yields and higher soil quality can be achieved by using the appropriate amount of fertiliser at the right time. A study on optimal poultry fertiliser rates for watermelon development on nutrient deficient soil, contributes to the current knowledge base. Thus, this paper intends to ascertain the effect of different application rates of poultry fertilizer on growth and yield properties of two cultivars of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) on soil with marginal nutrients. Accordingly, an experiment was conducted at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu's research farm at Bukit Kor (Marang) to compare the effects of various application rates (T1: 0T/Ha, T2: 10T/Ha, T3: 20T/Ha, T4: 30T/Ha) of poultry manure on the performance of two watermelon varieties (V1:yellow variety (golden delight) and V2:red variety (new dragon)). Several growth and yield parameters were determined, of which the treatments on the red variety at 20THa -1 and 30THa -1 produced the significant higher results for vine length (189.38 & 189.43cm), number of leaves (61 & 63), number of lateral branches (2.5 & 2.33), leaf area index (0.12 & 0.13), chlorophyll content SPAD (36.32 & 37.03), ) and number of flowers (8.33 & 11.7). The present research, therefore, contributes to a growing body of evidence suggesting that the red variety of watermelon treated with 20THa -1 or 30THa -1 presented the best results.