Abstract
Watermelon is an important vegetable consumed worldwide. It is mostly grown in a sandy loam soil with a pH value ranging from 6.5 to 7.5. However, due to the constraints in land accessibility coupled to the farmers-herders clashes for limited land resources in Nigeria, it is important to shift the focus from land extensification to intensification farming. This study therefore compares the potential of hydroponics system of cultivating watermelon relative to conventional soil farming system. Three varieties of water melon (Diamond black, Crimson sweet and Travelers watermelon varieties) were planted in 2 substrate conditions (soil and cocopeat) 4 kg each. It was a 3x2 factorial experiment arranged in a completely randomized design with 3 replicates. Data were collected on the agronomic and yield parameters, and analysed using ANOVA, and means were separated using LSD at 5% level of significance. Results obtained showed varied agronomic performances among the genotypes, while the Crimson sweet watermelon produced significantly heavier fruit size (5.38±0.34) compared to the rest genotype. However, the highest number of fruits (2.33±0.22) was obtained in the soil, but the substrate type was insignificant in the average fruit weight. Hence, the hydroponics system is recommended as a complementary alternative to soil farming.
Highlights
Fruits like watermelon is a good source of natural essential elements which are consumed by man to nourish the body and act as a preventive mechanism against several diseases by building the immune system (Reetu & Maharishi, 2017)
At 4 WAP, the number of leaves produced by CS (8.00±0.36) was significantly higher than the rest genotypes, whereas the leaf area of the BD genotype (14.15±0.62) was significantly higher than the rest genotypes, while the substrate type was insignificant in the growth parameters estimated (Table 2)
The soil usage outperformed the cocopeat substrate in the number of fruit formed but the fruits in cocopeat substrates were heavier than the ones from soil, not significant, the reason the differences in their weight was insignificant despite the soil having higher number
Summary
Fruits like watermelon is a good source of natural essential elements which are consumed by man to nourish the body and act as a preventive mechanism against several diseases by building the immune system (Reetu & Maharishi, 2017). Are these fruits useful in drug production, but they can be consumed fresh by humans, thereby making these essential elements available to humans. The pressure on watermelon supply calls for an increased production to meet the consumer needs, and this makes it important to consider a good edaphic and climatic conditions to boost its productivity. Due to the constraints in land accessibility coupled to the farmers-herders clashes for limited land resources, it is important to shift the focus from extensification (cultivating large expanse of land) to intensification (the use of small land area with more inputs) to boost watermelon production (Peter, 2018)
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