2013
Prin
ted
and
publ
ishe
d by
:
D
epar
tmen
t of A
gric
ultu
re, F
ores
try a
nd F
ishe
ries
Dire
ctor
ate:
Com
mun
icat
ion
Ser
vice
s
P
rivat
e B
ag X
144
PR
ETO
RIA
0001
agric
ultu
re,
fore
stry
& fi
sher
ies
Dep
artm
ent:
Agric
ultu
re, F
ores
try a
nd F
ishe
ries
REP
UB
LIC
OF
SOU
TH A
FRIC
A
Fur
ther
info
rmat
ion
can
be o
btai
ned
from
:
Dire
ctor
ate:
Pla
nt P
rodu
ctio
nP
rivat
e B
ag X
250
PR
ET
OR
IA 0
001
Tel
. 12
319
607
2F
ax
12 3
19 6
372
E-m
ail T
habo
.Ram
asha
la@
daff.
gov.
za
into
a t
hic
k ve
ge
tativ
e c
ove
r o
ver
the
so
il su
rfa
ce,
atta
ined
in 6
to 8
wee
ks a
fter
sow
ing.
The
mov
emen
t in
the
cro
p sh
ould
the
n be
red
uced
to
prev
ent
plan
t da
mag
e.
Pes
t and
dis
ease
con
trol
Th
e m
ost
co
mm
on
pe
st o
f b
itte
r w
ate
rme
lon
is
ap
hid
s. T
he
cro
p i
s a
ffe
cte
d b
y va
rio
us
dis
ea
ses
and
the
mos
t co
mm
on a
mon
g ot
hers
, ar
e fu
sari
um
wilt
, mos
aic
viru
ses,
bac
teria
l rin
d ne
cros
is a
nd r
oot
knot
nem
atod
e. A
pro
per
crop
rot
atio
n, u
se o
f cor
rect
vo
lum
es o
f fun
gici
de a
nd r
esis
tant
cul
tivar
can
ass
ist
in t
he c
ontr
ol o
f th
ese
pest
s. I
t is
als
o re
port
ed t
hat
by w
ater
ing
at th
e ba
se o
f the
pla
nts
inst
ead
of u
sing
ov
erhe
ad s
prin
kler
s, d
isea
ses
can
be p
reve
nted
.
Har
vest
ing
Bitt
er
wa
term
elo
n r
ea
che
s m
atu
rity
with
in 7
5 t
o 9
5 da
ys a
fter
plan
ting.
Han
d pi
ckin
g is
mos
tly p
refe
rred
to
avo
id b
reak
age
and
dam
age
to th
e m
elon
s.
Use
s
Th
e t
en
de
r le
ave
s a
nd
fru
it a
re c
oo
ked
as
a g
ree
n ve
geta
ble.
Fru
it fle
sh m
ay b
e co
oked
as
porr
idge
with
m
aize
mea
l. T
he fr
uit a
re tr
aditi
onal
ly u
sed
for
mak
-in
g ja
m. R
oast
ed s
eeds
are
edi
ble.
It is
als
o us
ed a
s an
imal
feed
.
Ref
eren
ces
Bo
tha
, R
. 2
00
5.
Citr
ullu
s la
na
tus.
Acc
ess
ed
22
Oct
ob
er
2012
. http
://ec
opor
t.org
/ep.
Nat
iona
l Res
earc
h C
ounc
il. L
ost
Cro
ps o
f A
fric
a:
Vol
ume
III.
Fru
its (
2008
). D
evel
opm
ent,
Sec
urity
, an
d C
oope
ratio
n (D
SC
). N
atio
nal A
cade
my
of S
cien
ces.
Van
Wyk
, B.E
, & G
eric
ke, N
. 200
0. P
eopl
e’s
plan
ts: a
gui
de
to u
sefu
l pla
nts
of S
outh
ern
Afr
ica.
Pre
toria
: B
riza.
Van
Ren
sbur
g, W
.S.J
., v
an A
verb
eke,
W.,
Bel
etse
, Y
.G &
S
lab
be
rt,
M.M
. 2
01
2.
Bitt
er
wa
term
elo
n (
Citr
illu
s la
na
tus
subs
p, la
natu
s): P
rodu
ctio
n gu
idel
ines
for
Afr
ican
leaf
y ve
g-et
able
s. W
ater
Res
earc
h C
omm
issi
on: p
. 31–
32.
Sci
entif
ic n
ame:
C
itrill
us la
natu
s (T
hunb
erg)
Fam
ily:
Cuc
urbi
tace
ae
Com
mon
nam
es:
Tsa
mm
a m
elon
, wild
wat
erm
elon
,
bi
tterb
oela
, bitt
erw
aatle
moe
n,
ka
rkoe
r, ts
amm
a, m
akat
aan,
ibot
ola
We
lma
n,
M.
20
11
. S
A N
ati
on
al
Bio
div
ers
ity
Inst
itu
te.
Nat
iona
l Her
bari
um,
Pre
tori
a. A
cces
sed
15 O
ctob
er 2
012
from
http
://w
ww
.pla
ntza
fric
a.co
m/p
lant
cd/c
itrul
lana
t.htm
.
Clim
ate
and
so
il re
qu
irem
ents
Tem
pera
ture
Ge
ne
rally
, a
lo
ng
pe
rio
d o
f w
arm
, p
refe
rab
ly d
ry
we
ath
er,
with
ab
un
da
nt
sun
shin
e is
re
qu
ire
d.
It is
fr
ost s
ensi
tive
and
requ
ires
tem
pera
ture
s of
27
°C.
Rai
nfal
l
In th
e K
alah
ari r
egio
n, ts
amm
a m
elon
s re
quire
400
to
650
mm
of r
ain
a ye
ar. A
see
d ty
pe o
f drie
r cl
imat
es
req
uir
es
less
wa
ter
tha
n W
est
Afr
ica
n s
ee
d t
ype
s,
whi
ch r
equi
re a
n av
erag
e an
nual
rai
nfal
l of
at le
ast
700
to 1
000
mm
. It d
oes
not t
oler
ate
wat
erlo
ggin
g.
Soi
l
Bitt
er w
ater
mel
on p
refe
rs lo
ose,
san
dy a
nd w
ell-f
erti-
lised
soi
l. T
he c
rop
does
bes
t on
a ric
h, s
andy
loam
, al
thou
gh it
will
gro
w in
mos
t so
il ty
pes
prov
ided
tha
t th
e so
il is
wel
l dra
ined
. It a
lso
grow
s be
st a
t a s
oil p
H
of 5
,6 to
7,0
, but
will
als
o to
lera
te a
pH
as
low
as
5,0.
Cu
ltiv
atio
n p
ract
ices
Pro
paga
tion
Bitt
er w
ater
mel
on is
pro
paga
ted
thro
ugh
seed
.
Soi
l pre
para
tion
Min
imal
soi
l pre
para
tion
is n
eede
d on
e m
onth
bef
ore
plan
ting;
the
field
sho
uld
be d
eepl
y pl
ough
ed a
nd a
l-lo
wed
to
sett
le.
The
fie
ld s
houl
d be
rel
ativ
ely
free
of
ston
es. L
evel
ling
may
be
need
ed fo
r fu
rrow
irrig
atio
n.
Ra
ise
d b
ed
s (1
0 t
o 5
0 c
m h
igh
) im
pro
ve d
rain
ag
e,
mo
dify
te
mp
era
ture
an
d in
cre
ase
th
e d
ep
th o
f th
e ro
otin
g zo
ne.
Pla
ntin
g
Bitt
er
wa
term
elo
ns
are
usu
ally
pla
nte
d in
hill
s o
f 2
pla
nts
, sp
ace
d 5
0 c
m b
etw
ee
n p
lan
ts a
nd
2 t
o 3
m
betw
een
row
s w
hen
only
mel
ons
are
plan
ted
to g
ive
the
plan
ts p
lent
y of
roo
m to
gro
w, g
ood
air
circ
ulat
ion
and
spac
e fo
r po
llina
tors
to w
ork.
Fer
tilis
atio
n
Bitt
er
wa
term
elo
n r
esp
on
ds
we
ll to
fe
rtili
sers
, e
s-p
eci
ally
to
org
an
ic m
att
er.
Th
e v
olu
me
re
qu
ire
d de
pend
s on
the
nutr
ient
sta
tus
of th
e so
il. In
gen
eral
, ap
plic
atio
n at
a r
ate
of 2
0 to
30
t/ha
orga
nic
man
ure,
50
to 6
0 kg
N, 1
0 to
15 k
g P
and
20
to 3
0 kg
K p
er h
a is
sui
tabl
e fo
r goo
d pe
rfor
man
ce. U
sing
a h
oe, o
pen
a fu
rrow
and
app
ly th
e fe
rtili
ser
mix
ture
in th
e bo
ttom
of
the
furr
ow a
t a r
ate
of 4
0 g/
m. A
nor
mal
-siz
ed te
acup
ta
kes
abou
t 200
gra
m c
hem
ical
fert
ilise
rs a
nd w
ould
co
ver
5 m
. For
rea
lly g
ood
grow
th, a
dd L
AN
at a
rat
e of
20
g/m
whe
n th
e pl
ants
hav
e ab
out 5
to 6
leav
es.
Whe
n ap
plyi
ng L
AN
to th
e gr
owin
g cr
op, o
pen
a fu
r-ro
w w
ith a
hoe
abo
ut 1
0 to
15
cm a
way
from
the
row
of
pla
nts,
mix
the
fert
ilise
r w
ith th
e so
il us
ing
a st
ick,
w
ater
the
furr
ow a
nd th
en c
lose
.
Wh
en
usi
ng
po
ultr
y o
r p
ig m
an
ure
, a
pp
ly o
ne
10
-l
buck
et in
a b
and
of a
bout
20
cm w
ide
over
a le
ngth
of
15
m, w
ork
the
man
ure
into
the
top
soil,
wat
er th
e b
an
d t
ho
rou
gh
ly a
nd
wa
it o
ne
to
tw
o w
ee
ks b
efo
re
tran
spla
ntin
g. W
hen
you
use
kraa
l man
ure,
use
the
sa
me
pro
ced
ure
, b
ut
ap
ply
on
e 1
0-l
bu
cke
t o
ver
a le
ngth
of 5
m.
Irrig
atio
n
Bit
ter
wa
term
elo
n n
ee
ds
co
ns
iste
nt
mo
istu
re.
Irri
ga
ting
de
ep
ly is
ne
ed
ed
to
ke
ep
th
e s
oil
mo
ist,
ra
the
r th
an
ap
ply
ing
fre
qu
en
t, s
ho
rte
r sp
rin
klin
gs.
O
nce
th
e f
low
ers
em
erg
e,
irri
ga
te t
he
pla
nts
th
or-
ough
ly e
very
thr
ee d
ays.
The
bes
t tim
e to
irri
gate
is
mid
-day
, afte
r th
e flo
wer
s an
d fr
uit h
ave
had
time
to
set a
nd th
e be
es h
ave
visi
ted.
Wee
d co
ntro
l
Wee
d co
ntro
l is
esse
ntia
l for
goo
d yi
eld
and
it m
akes
ha
rves
ting
easi
er.
Han
d w
eedi
ng,
hoei
ng a
nd o
ther
m
echa
nica
l mea
ns a
re u
sed
to c
ontr
ol w
eeds
. T
wo
or th
ree
wee
ding
s ar
e ne
eded
bef
ore
the
stem
s gr
ow
Ori
gin
an
d d
istr
ibu
tio
n
Bitt
er w
ater
mel
on o
rigi
nate
s in
sou
ther
n A
fric
a an
d oc
curs
nat
ural
ly in
Sou
th A
fric
a, N
amib
ia, B
otsw
ana,
Z
imb
ab
we
, M
oza
mb
iqu
e,
Za
mb
ia a
nd
Ma
law
i. It
is
wid
ely
dist
ribut
ed in
Afr
ica
and
Asi
a.
Pro
du
ctio
n a
reas
in S
ou
th A
fric
a
Bitt
er w
ater
mel
on is
com
mon
in s
ome
prov
ince
s of
S
outh
Afr
ica,
incl
udin
g Li
mpo
po,
Fre
e S
tate
, N
orth
-W
est,
Gau
teng
and
Nor
ther
n C
ape.
Des
crip
tio
n
Bitt
er w
ater
mel
on is
an
annu
al h
erb
with
cur
ly te
ndril
sw
hich
can
gro
w u
p to
3 m
long
.
Ste
m
The
ste
ms
are
thin
, hai
ry, a
ngul
ar, g
roov
ed a
nd h
ave
tend
rils
at e
ach
node
. The
y ar
e hi
ghly
bra
nche
d an
d up
to 1
0 m
long
.
Roo
ts
The
root
sys
tem
is v
ery
exte
nsiv
e an
d su
perf
icia
l with
a
tapr
oot a
nd m
any
late
ral r
oots
.
Leav
es
Le
ave
s a
re h
air
y a
nd
de
ep
ly p
alm
ate
wit
h 3
to
5
lob
es
on
2 t
o 1
9 c
m p
eti
ole
s. T
he
y h
ave
a r
ou
gh
text
ure
and
a vi
sibl
e w
hite
ven
atio
n.
Flo
wer
s
Flo
wer
s w
ith la
rge,
yel
low
pet
als
of a
roun
d 2
to 1
0 m
m
are
rand
omly
dis
pers
ed,
form
ing
man
y se
eded
fru
it w
ith a
var
iega
ted
light
-gre
en a
nd d
ark-
gree
n pa
ttern
.
Fru
it
The
frui
t var
ies
cons
ider
ably
in m
orph
olog
y an
d si
ze.
The
pul
p is
typ
ical
ly p
ink
or r
ed,
thou
gh y
ello
w,
or-
ange
. Whi
te fl
eshe
d va
rietie
s ar
e al
so p
opul
ar.
