Effects of NPK Fertilizer and Staking Methods on The Growth and Yield of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) in Unwana-Afikpo

An experiment was conducted at the Teaching, Demonstration and Research Farm of Department of Agricultural Technology, Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic Unwana in Ebonyi State, to evaluate the effect of NPK fertilizer and staking methods on the growth and yield of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L. ). Three different rates of NPK fertilizer (0, 60 and 120 kg/ha) and two staking methods (staking and non-staking) were used. The experiment was conducted as 3x2 factorial laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. The parameters assessed were vine length, number of leaves, number of flowers, days to 50 % flowering, number of fruits, weight of fruits and number of marketable fruits. Treatment means were separated using least significant difference (LSD = 0.05). The result from this study showed that NPK fertilizer had a significant effect on the vine length, number of flowers, number of fruits and number of marketable fruits. The staked treatment constantly performed better with higher values than unstaked plants except in number of leaves and weight of fruits. Hence, for maximum production of watermelon, NPK fertilizer rates at 60kg/ha and staking should be adopted.