Efficacy of graded levels of nitrogen and potassium on growth and yield of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) in lateritic soils of Konkan

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of nitrogen, phoporous and potassium on growth and yield parameters of watermelon crop in lateritic soils of Konkan region. The experiment was carried out in a Randomized Block Design (RCBD) with three treatments replicated seven times. Experimental results revealed that mean fruit yield of different treatments was significant during individual years as well as in pooled data among the different fertilizer levels tested. The treatment T3 (20t FYM, 250-50-100 kg NPKha-1) produced maximum fruit yield (30.45 tha-1) (Pooled data) which was significantly superior over all other treatments whereas the treatment T1 20t FYM, 150-50-50 kg NPKha-1 (RDF) recorded minimum fruit yield of 22.96 tha-1. T3 also showed that application of increased level of nitrogen along with rational increased dose of potassium significantly increased the average weight of fruits, number of fruits per vine and ultimately the yield of watermelon crop that shows positive response of the crop toward the graded levels of fertilizers. Treatment T3 (20t FYM, 250-50-100 kg NPK ha-1) showed best results and was thus optimum fertilizer dose for lateritic soils of Konkan region of Maharashtra