Watermelon is cultivated for sweet and delicious juice during summer. Generally, watermelon is propagated by seeds. In watermelon, triploid seeds are produced by honeybee aided pollination and the manual pollination methods. The male fertile plants can be rogued out easily in the tetraploid female plants i.e. tetraploid male sterile plants. The Male and female parents are raised at 1:3 or 1:4 ratio. Generally, the fruits development and the color of seeds changed from brown to black at 60 days from the day of pollination. The seeds should be completely washed and separated from the flesh during extraction. The seeds should be dried in shade on nylon net and followed by sunlight. The seeds also dried in the forced-air dryer to maintain the quality. These seeds are graded by using specific gravity separator based on their density Watermelon seeds can be viable for three to four years if they are stored at 10 - 15 per cent moisture with a temperature of 14 - 20°C. Seven per cent moisture content for normal open storage and six per cent for moisture proof storage conditions should be maintained. The Lagenaria leucantha is highly suitable root stock with water melon as a scion to protect the watermelon plants from soil borne diseases and favours early harvest of the fruits. Few attempts are made to multiply tetraploid watermelon by using tissue culture protocols.
Propagation Techniques, Watermelon
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