Soil moisture regime effect on the performance of watermelon under varying nitrogen levels in a semi-arid region

Abstract: Watermelon is a crop with a high economic value, which is grown and traded for export in many countries. With the expansion of land under irrigation and provision of irrigation facilities in many of the semi-arid regions including Nigeria, local farmers now grow the crop under irrigation, which hitherto, was restricted to rainy season or under residual moisture. A field study was earned out to investigate the effects of varying levels of nitrogen (0, 50, 100 or 50 kg N ha^-1 and irrigation regime (7, 14 or 21-day intervals) on the performance of watermelon at Kadawa (11 ^o 39’ N, 08^o 02’ E), Nigeria. The result revealed that nitrogen significantly affected the growth, yield and yield components in the range of 50-150 kg ha^-1 . Similarly, frequency of irrigation affected some of the growth parameters; however, the total and marketable yields were not significantly affected when irrigation regime was delayed up to 21-day interval. Thus, the volume of water would be reduced thereby increasing efficient use of water in the region which is the major limiting factor during the dry season farming.