Application of boron fertilizer and topping on female parent seed production of watermelon

Abstract

High quality watermelon fruit can be influenced by the quality of the seeds planted. The purpose of this research was to obtain the dose of Boron fertilizer and topping on the seed production of watermelon female parent. The research was conducted from September 2021 to December 2021. This research was conducted using a factorial randomized block design consisting of 2 factors (Boron fertilizer dose and topping) which was repeated 4 times. Treatment of Boron Fertilizer consisted of 3 levels (0 kg.ha-1, 2 kg.ha-1, and 4 kg.ha-1). Topping treatment consists of 2 levels, without topping and using topping. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and LSD at 5%. The results showed that the dose of Boron fertilizer 2 kg.ha−1 gave the best effect on flowering age of male flower (20 DAP), flowering age of female flower (23 DAP), fruit weight (1.13 kg), seed weight per fruit (5.46 g), seed production per hectare (182.04 kg), and weight of 1000 seeds (39.50 g). The dose of Boron fertilizer 4 kg.ha−1 gave the best effect on seed germination (97%) and seed vigor (79%). Topping treatment did not affect all the parameters observed.