M2: FEATURES | December 16, 2009
Harvesting your money in less than three months
Michael J. Ssali

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, is an old English saying and many people these days have accepted the wisdom, making fruits part of their usual diet.

They are good for digestion and an important source of Vitamin C and a whole range of other nutrients. For some people, it is now an occupation to sell packs of fruit salads and they will move from one office to another and from one shop to another selling fruits as their source of income. Many restaurants nowadays serve fruits as part of the main courses (dessert). Fruits are on demand in all urban markets and fruit stalls are a common feature in nearly every trading centre and roadside market along our highways.

It is therefore a good idea for farmers involved in crop agriculture to devote some attention and energy to growing fruits or to altogether specialise in fruit farming. The goal of making money notwithstanding, he is expected to grow fruits to keep the family well fed and healthy. By the very nature of his labourious occupation, the farmer must feed well to be strong and “to keep the doctor away”.

An NGO in Rakai District at its model farm, Uganda Rural Community Support Foundation (URCSF), located at Kirumba in Kirumba Sub-county, has undertaken to teach modern farming skills to farmers with a view to improve their diet and to increase household incomes. Fruit growing is one of the skills offered at the demonstration farm. They teach fruit tree grafting and also prepare seedlings to give farmers. A recent visit to the farm drew my attention to the watermelon – a fruit so common on the market stalls and from which many smallholder farmers mainly in Mpigi and Masaka districts have earned money and improved their livelihoods.

The watermelon grows fast with good care and fetches money quite quickly. It bears fruits which may be harvested within just three months after planting. The seeds are normally obtained from farmers’ shops where it may also be possible to get simple guidelines on how to proceed with growing the crop. Depending on its size, a watermelon could cost anything above Shs3,000. The number of fruits varies per vine from three to 15 or even more. The fruit may weigh anything from two to seven or even more kilograms depending on the fertility of the soil and the amount of rain it received.

According to Mr Fred Mpanga, the Farm Manager at URCSF, it is always good to prepare the ground into which the farmer intends to plant the watermelon. It should be clear of weeds and the holes should be dug about a foot deep and perhaps two square feet. Since the watermelon belongs to the gourd family with its vines growing prostrate it is good to allow for reasonable spacing between the plants of some seven or 10 metres or a little longer. The hole should be filled up again with top soil. He strongly advises the application of organic manure by mixing perhaps two spades of such manure as animal dung with the soil. About four seeds of watermelon may be planted in each hole, one in every corner of the square, Mr Mpanga recommends.

Even for people who have never grown the watermelon in their areas, perhaps unsure if it could do well there, should give it a try. The crop, according to research, is native to Tropical Africa and is known to be under cultivation on every continent with suitable climate and soil. It might be interesting to learn that the watermelon is one of the fruits depicted in early Egyptian art, indicating that it has been under cultivation for at least 4,000 years.

Since the seeds are planted in a hole from where the crop grows and spreads its vines to the neighbouring area it is easy for the farmer to water it when the rains fail by pouring the water right at the spot where he planted the seeds.

Fusarium wilt, anthracnose, downy mildew, stem end rot, and root knot are some of the diseases to worry the watermelon grower. Among the most disturbing pests are certain beetles, cutworms, melon aphids and mites. Fortunately these can be kept under control with the application of the common pesticides often available in farmers’ shops. It is always good to discuss any such issues with the agricultural advisory services provider in the area.

The water melon has a fairly long shelf life especially when it is well handled during and after harvest. The farmer must avoid causing cuttings or bruises on the fruit’s surface.