THE WATERMELON CHALLENGE……
All the above cited practices point to one main issue,POLLINATION!
Thus,the mishapen fruit is more likely to be as a result of poor pollination .When the affected fruit is disected ,the ‘’flat’’ part will show few seeds that have not developed compared to the other part.
SOLUTION
Every farmer should ensure that pollination is maximised within the farm ,this can be achieved by encouraging the presence of pollinators in the farm i.e bees through various methods such as use of Honey addition into the spray programs and use of beehives around the farms,
Use mild pesticides during the critical stage of flowering and fruiting
Use of hand pollination is also a key agronomic practice that will ensure uniformity in fruit size and shape.
For watermellon challenge guide,kindly contact Noah M Nasiali https://www.facebook.com/nnaz2k
or click on the link
http://t.Me/watermelonchallenge
I would like to ask what causes blackening and abortion of small watermelon fruits?
Antony,
blackening is a broad description and i would be glad if we got a pgoto of the problem for our replies.
on abortion,it may be as a result of several factors inclusive of
1.pests eg thrips
2.lack of the required elements eg boron
3.hormornal imbalance ie auxins and cytokinins i the plant
4.overbearing ,wich results to fruit number control through abortion
5.poor watering regime
understanding your management regime of the current crop will help identify the cause of the problem for you to solve it .
kindly feel free to share with us the program and the tentatve cause among the listed for our guide
regards
lead Agronomist
info@agroinfokenya.com