Watermelon requires hot dry climate and a long growing season preferably with warmer days and cooler nights. Watermelons grow best in rich, sandy loam soils with slight acid. Heavier soils do not permit perfect root growth and hence only short duration varieties with smaller fruits suitable.
Sandy soils with adequate fertilizers yield very fine quality watermelons. Watermelon is fairly tolerant to soil pH as low as 5.5. Watermelon grows best where soil pH is between 6.0 and 7.0. Application of lime to a low pH soil can yield better results.
Watermelon cannot withstand frost or very low temperatures. For seed germination, an optimum moisture and a soil temperature between 25 – 30 ° C is needed.
The soil of recently deforested land contains much decayed vegetable matter, and plants growing on it withstand dry weather better than those growing on land that has been cropped for several years.
Soil suitable for watermelon cultivation
