Growing watermelon in Nigeria can be an interesting business or hobby. A lot of watermelon farmers in Nigeria grow watermelon in the dry season months due to various reasons. For some watermelon farmers, November may be the best month to plant watermelon.
Some other watermelon farmers may also choose months between November and March as the best months to plant watermelon in Nigeria.
The best month to plant watermelon in Nigeria
The following are the months you can plant watermelon in Nigeria:
January
This is one of the best months to grow watermelon in Nigeria as this month is dry. January belongs to the watermelon planting season in Nigeria. The risk of fungal diseases is low.
February
Just like January, this is a dry season month in Nigeria. Watermelon can be grown in this month without a lot of worries about fungal diseases.
March
This month is also usually dry though with some chances of rains. Watermelon can also be grown in this month.
April
Rains usually start in Nigeria in this month; watermelon can also be planted in this month. However, fungal diseases should be well managed.
May
May is a rainy month. Watermelon farmers should be armed with good fungicides if they want to cultivate watermelon in May.
June
Just like May, Nigeria receives a lot of rainfall in June. Watermelon farmers who decide to grow watermelon in this month should be able to effectively manage all the fungal diseases associated with watermelon.
July
Fungicides should be well deployed if you decide to grow watermelon in July because of the high occurrences of rainfall in this month.
August
Watermelon can also be grown in August, however, good disease management protocols should be observed.
September
Watermelon can also be grown in September. Farmers growing watermelon in this month should guard against fungal diseases and other diseases.
October - December
These are the best months to grow watermelon in Nigeria as these months are usually dry. The demand for watermelon towards the end of the year in Nigeria is also very high.
Why Grow Watermelon?
Watermelon farming is the cultivation of watermelon for the production of watermelon fruits. The end result of watermelon farming is the harvesting of the watermelon balls.
Watermelon takes about 70-90 days to reach maturity depending on the variety of watermelon planted.
The process of growing watermelon starts from the preparation of the field, followed by the planting of the watermelon seeds and the laying of the irrigation lines. Fertilizers and pesticides are also needed to be applied.
Watermelon crop is often affected by a lot of pests and diseases. These diseases and pests should be well managed. Prevention is better in disease management.
In Nigeria, watermelon is grown for the consumption of the watermelon balls, marketing of the watermelon balls and processing the watermelon fruits into other products.
There are commercial watermelon farmers in Nigeria and other growers like hobbyists and small scale growers.
Watermelon can be grown in any month in Nigeria. However, months between October – February are the best months to plant watermelon in Nigeria.
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