If you make a purchase using one of these links, I may earn a commission. Please see my disclosure page for more information about cookies collected and our privacy policy. Or if you just have a mystery plant growing in your yard and want to know what it is. This guide will help you determine what a watermelon plant looks like and how to tell the difference between other cucurbits. As I mentioned, in the seedling stage when cucurbits only have a couple of leaves cucumbers and watermelons looks pretty close to identical.
You can usually tell squash apart because squash plants tend to be larger, have thicker stems, and grow faster. But once the true leaves emerge you will easily be able to tell the difference between these plants. As you can see, it has lobed leaves. These deep lobes are characteristic of all watermelon plants.
Just like the watermelon leaf can be compared to an oak, a cucumber leaf can be compared to a maple. If they start to smother other things you can remind them about sticking to their area by gently moving the tips of the vines, so they grow into the right direction.
The smaller male flowers appear first. The female flowers are larger and you can already see the tiny melon beginning to form at the base of the flower. If you don't see female flowers it could have several reasons: too hot, too cold, not enough water, not enough nutrients In any way, it means the watermelon plant isn't happy.
If the plant does produce female flowers but the little fruit at the base of it shrivels up and dies, then the flowers are not getting pollinated. Watermelon flowers are insect pollinated. If you suspect the insects aren't doing their job, you can do it yourself, just to be sure. Hand pollination is best done early in the morning.
Pull off several male flowers and remove the flower petals. Then brush the pollen laden stamen against the stigma in the centre of the female flower, so the pollen sticks to it. To grow them as large as possible you can pinch out the tip of the branch after several fruits have set i.
The first sign to look for is the curly tendril at the stem. Once it is dry, as in, totally dry not just starting to dry off, once it is totally dry, your watermelon may be ready.
Another sign is the light coloured patch on the bottom of the fruit. It is initially greenish, but as the melon ripens the green tinge disappears and it becomes yellowish.
The skin overall becomes duller and tougher. But the most popular way to tell if watermelons are ripe is the sound. Knock them with your knuckles and listen for a dull, hollow sound. The unripe melons have a higher pitched sound. Keep thumping lots of them and comparing until you can tell the difference. Eventually you'll have to take a chance on one The biggest watermelon pests are the leaf eating beetles they damage the flowers, too like spotted and striped cucumber beetles, pumpkin beetles with or without dots, whatever you want to call them.
They all look similar and all do the same: they chomp away on your watermelon plants. A healthy watermelon in a balanced environment and in good soil should not attract too many beetles. Also, a watermelon should grow fast enough to cope with a few beetles. In other words, you should spend more time worrying about providing your plants with enough enough sun, water and the right nutrients than you should spend worrying about the beetles. The other main problem with growing watermelons is mildew, a fungus that makes the leaves look as if they were coated with white powder.
The fungus thrives in damp, humid conditions. The best you can do to avoid mildew is to avoid getting the leaves wet. If you can't avoid overhead watering, do it first thing in the morning so the leaves dry quickly.
Never wet the leaves in the afternoon or evening. In the tropics, once the build up for the wet season starts, you probably won't be able to control the beetles or the mildew. And it isn't worth it anyway The oppressive heat and the humidity just aren't good conditions for growing watermelons. Grow something else that likes humidity and wait for the next dry season to grow watermelons again.
Growing passion fruit is quite easy. You can grow passionfruit from seed. However, in cooler climates you should Learn how to grow mangoes, whether they come from a nursery or your own seed. Leaves severely infected with downy mildew. Downy mildew symptoms on watermelon foliage.
Necrotic leaves curling upwards due to downy mildew infection. Symptoms of downy mildew on watermelon leaf. Yellow mottling on leaves; dark brown lesions on leaves; leaves curling inwards;. Management Do not overcrowd plants; avoid overhead irrigation, water plants from base; apply appropriate fungicide.
Discolored stem tissue caused by Fusarium infection. Symptoms of fusarium wilt in a watermelon field. Wilting plants; wilting confined to one or more vines; foliage has a dull gray-green appearance and turns yellow as the disease progresses; vascular tissue has a red discoloration. Management Plant in well draining soils and avoid waterlogging; plant fungicide treated seed; rotate crops on 4 year rotation. Gummy stem blight lesions on watermelon foliage.
Gummy stem blight symptoms on watermelon. Gummy stem blight lesions on watermelon stem. Symptoms of gummy stem blight on watermelon stems and leaves. Close-up of gummy stem blight lesion on watermelon leaf margin. Round or irregular brown lesions with faint concentric rings on cotyledons; brown or white lesions on crown and stems; soft, circular brown lesions on fruit; lesions on stems and fruit may be oozing an amber colored sticky substance.
Fungus can be spread b infected seed, air currents or water splash; survives on plant debris in soil; disease emergence is favored by warm, wet conditions. Management Use disease free seed; treat seeds prior to planting; rotate crops every years to a non-cucurbit to reduce disease build up in soil; reduce crop residue in soil by plowing plant debris into soil after harvest; application of preventative fungicides are usually required to control the disease successfully.
Symptoms of powdery mildew on watermelon leaves. Reddish or bronze appearance of older leaves; obvious patches of white powdery growth on leaves. Management Plant in sites with good air circulation and sun exposure; do not overcrowd plants; sanitize equipment regularly.
Symptoms generally appear after fruit set; chlorotic leaves which develop necrotic areas; leaves collapsing; symptoms only on one side of vine; discoloration of vascular tissue in roots. Fungus can survive in soil for many years; disease emergence favored by cool or mild weather in Spring. Management Do not plant in areas where other susceptible crops have been grown previously; delay planting until temperatures are warmer.
Category : Bacterial. Spread through infected seed, splashing rain, insects and movement of people between plants; bacterium overwinters in crop debris and can survive for 2.
Management Use disease-free seed; do not grow plants in field where cucurbits have been grown in the previous 2 years; protective copper spray may help reduce incidence of disease in warm, humid climates; plant resistant varieties. Symptoms of bacterial fruit blotch on watermelon fruit. Symptoms of bacterial fruit blotch on watermelon foliage.
Small water-soaked lesions on top or sides of fruit which enlarge over surface; lesions on fruit may turn reddish or brown and crack. Spread through infected seed or water splash; disease emergence favors wet conditions.
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