Effect of plant population and mulching on wild watermelon growth and yield

A field study of wild watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) establishment and yield using seed to compare the effects of different population densities (3,000, 6,000, 9,000 and 12,000 plants ha⁻¹) and mulching rates (0, 2.5 and 5 t ha⁻¹) with grass mulch on soil water, temperature, vine length, number of branches and leaves per plant, fruit number per plant and per hectare, total yield, fresh and dry fruit mass was conducted. The fruit per hectare and total yields increased as the plant population increased resulting in high yields in the range from 6,00012,000 plants per hectare. Yield was more influenced by plant population than by mulching. Mulching did not affect growth and yield of wild watermelon but it affected soil temperature and soil moisture. More water was conserved, while soil temperature was reduced upon increased mulching. This was shown by 31 and 12.6% increase in volumetric water content when the amount of mulch was increased by 2.5 and 5 t/ha, respectively. However, this was associated with only 1°C change in temperature, which may be significant for critical stages of plant growth.