Agronomic performance and adaptability of three varieties of watermelon (<i>Citrullus lanatus</i>) on sandy loam soil in derived savanna

Abstract

Amidst tropical vegetables, watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is increasing popular for its numerous health benefits. In Nigeria, this vegetable crop is still under-produced in the relatively more humid southern part where it is heavily consumed. This situation is partly due to lack of empirical data on existing exotic and local varieties particularly in the southeastern region of the country. In this study, field trials with three watermelon varieties [Lagone (exotic), Koloss (exotic) and Charleston gray (local) serving as control] were conducted on a sandy loam acid soil at Nsukka in southeastern Nigeria typifying Derived Savanna. They were evaluated for agronomic performance including vegetative growth and fruit yield. Koloss took less time (~ 10 days) to emerge compared to Lagone (15 days) and Charleston gray (14 days). Lagone attained first and 50% flowering earlier (36 and 39 days, respectively) than the others. Charleston gray had the longest vine (196.42 cm) nine weeks after planting but showed fewer fruits (3.33) than the others, while Koloss showed largest fruit width (15.66 cm). Fresh fruit yield indicated nominal differences but tended to be highest in Koloss (1.95 kg/plant); Lagone and Charleston gray had 1.85 and 1.74 kg/plant, respectively. For enhanced production of watermelon, Koloss is recommended to farmers in Nsukka agro-environment and similar climate-soil zones in the savanna. In the future, this exotic variety could be hybridized with the local Charleston gray and the hybrid seeds evaluated against the pure lines.

Morphological characterization and response of red flower rag leaf (Crassocephalum crepidioides Benth S. Moore) to organic and inorganic fertilizers and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus

“…The variations shown by the characters may be as a result of high genetic diversity, differences of growing type and differences on the type of adaptation. This is in accordance with the reports that variations in characters were due to high genetic diversity and differences of growing type and type of adaptation (Mujica and Jacobsen, 2003;Oraegbunam et al, 2016;Umezinwa et al, 2020). The variations also suggest that the characters are under genetic control and as such be liable to genetic improvement.…”

Soil fertility indices of tropical loamy sand as influenced by bambara groundnut variety, plant spacing and fertilizer type

“…Fertilizers were applied four weeks after sowing at the rates of 60 kg ha -1 for both NPK and SSP, and 10 t ha -1 for PM. Since NPK rate of 150 kg ha -1 had been successfully used to grow varieties of non-leguminous cover crop in the study area (Oraegbunam et al, 2016), the lower rate here considered bambara's N-fixing ability. The rates of SSP and PM used here were adopted after Uzoh et al (2017) and Obi and Ebo (1995), respectively.…”

Agronomic and disease responses of three watermelon (citrilus lanatus l.) varieties to fungicide spraying regimes in a tropical environment

“…Few attempts to grow the crop in the derived savanna agroecology of southeast Nigeria have been successful [7,14], although yield and quality have been significantly reduced by fungal diseases, with wilt disease the most predominant within the agroecology. Watermelon production is often limited by biotic and abiotic factors, including fungi pathogens.…”