Introduction Present status/ nutritive value Recommended varieties Nursery management Field establishment Climate and soil/ land preparation/ spacing/ time of planting/ seeding or planting Crop management Weed control/ fertilizer application/ irrigation/ pest control/ disease control Harvesting & post-harvest technology Harvesting/ post-harvest handling/ food processing Economics & marketing Extent & production/ labour requirement/ cost of production/ marketing Research Programme Printed materials in pdf format Abstracts of research papers

Introduction

Nutritive Values
(per 100g edible portion)   

Energy	16.0k cal
Protein	0.2g
Fat	0.2g
Carbohydrates	3.3g
Calcium	11.0mg
Phosphorus	12 .0
Iron	7.9mg
Thiamine	20.0ug
Riboflavin	40.0ug
Vit.C	1.0mg

Medicinal Values
Quenches thirst when eaten as fresh fruit.

Recommended Varieties

Thiliny
Type	Open pollinated variety
Skin colour	Dark green
Fruit size	Medium (2.5-3.0 kg/fruit)
Days to 50% flowering	20-30 days after planting
Days to fruit set	25-35 days after planting

Field Establishment

Environmental Requirement
rain fed or supplementary irrigation. Performance of the crop is better under irrigation in yala seasons compared to maha seasons. 

Crop Management

Agronomic and Cultural Practices
Seed requirement is 3 kg/ha. Three to four seed have to be planted in planting holes spaced at a distance of 100 X 50 cm and thinned out to get two plants per hill, ten days after planting. It is better to apply straw mulch in the cultivation. Irrigation has to terminate two weeks prior to harvesting.

Fertilizer requirement
 

Stage of the crop	Urea (kg/ha)	TSP (kg/ha)	MOP  (kg/ha)
Basal	75	200	60
Two weeks after planting	75	-	60
Five weeks after planting	75	-	60

Pest and Disease
Pest:
Aulacaphora beetle, Leaf minor and Fruit fly are the major pest in melon.

Aulacaphora beetle
Adults feed on leaves and the larvae damage the stem and root system. Apply Carbofuran 3% granules at planting to control larvae in areas where the damage is severe. For adults apply Trichlorafon 50 EC (800-1100 ml/ha) or Carbaryl 45 WP (1.1-1.4 kg/ha) when the damage or pest is observed. 

Fruit fly
Apply Fenthion 50 EC at the rate of 1050-1400 ml/ha at flowering. Bagging the fruits if possible will also reduce the pest damage.

Leaf minor
It is not advisable to apply chemicals to control this pest. However if the pest damage severe apply Cyramaizine at the rate of 150 g/ha or Azadirachtin 400 ml/ha. Check for live mines in 6th to 12th leaves below the tip.

Diseases
Powdery and Downey mildew, are the major diseases in melon. The powdery mildew on leaves characterized by the appearance of tiny white to dirty gray spots on upper surface of the leaves while angular yellow coloured spots appears on lower surface of the leaves when infected by the Downey mildew. Maintained the field without host plant and cucurbitacea plants. Apply Captan Carbendazim or Thiophanate- methyl to control powdery mildew and apply Captan, Maneb or Propineb as per instructions by the manufacture to control downy mildew. 

Harvesting & Post-harvest Technology

Harvest
Melon can be harvested 75-110 days after planting. Average yield is about 25-30 mt/ha. Melon has to be harvested at the correct stage of the fruit maturity. Dark green skin, yellow coloured spot where the fruits touches the ground and watery sound when tapping are the indicators of proper stage of maturity.

Value Added Products
In fruit salads; seeds boiled and salted as a snack

Economics & Marketing

Availability
May -June