OFF-SEASON AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF THREE EXOTIC WATERMELON VARIETIES IN THE SOUTH-WESTERN REGION OF BANGLADESH

Abstract

The watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.)] - a herbaceous, annual, and monoecious fruit - belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae and is usually cultivated in Bangladesh during the period from February to April. However, they may be grown year-round, and off-season watermelon cultivation is more profitable than seasonal farming. The research was conducted at the Field Laboratory of Khulna University from August to December, 2021 to evaluate the off-season agronomic performance of the selected three watermelon varieties viz. Kanya, Black Super, and Tripti. The experiment investigated both the vegetative and reproductive growth of watermelon following a Randomized Complete Block Design with five replications. Kanya had the longest vines with the most leaves, and nodes followed by Black Super and Tripti. All the watermelon cultivars were found to be similar in producing male flowers, while Black Super and Kanya produced more female flowers, and Black Super also produced the highest fruit yield (6.37 t ha-1), which was statistically similar to Kanya (5.84 t ha-1) and the lowest yield was obtained from Tripti (3.69 t ha-1).  Kanya performed better regarding fruit length (22.47 cm), fruit width (30.89 cm), and fruit weight (1.03 kg). Black Super scored the highest TSS (8.43) (Brix0) value, followed by Kanya (7.63) and Tripti (6.39). The amount of weight loss after the harvesting of fruits was less in Black Super, followed by Kanya and Tripti. Black Super had a longer recorded shelf life (28 days) than the other two varieties. The results of this study suggest that Black Super and Kanya can be grown during the off-season in the south-western region of Bangladesh.