Watermelon Farming
One great advantage of watermelon farming is its potential to give you high returns three times a year. Apart from a ready market for the melon, it is pest resistant and very easy and cost effective to produce. Watermelon is a tropical crop that can be produced in all parts of Nigeria and matures in about 80 to 85 days.
Watermelon is the third world highly cultivated crops after potato and tomato. The world largest producers are China, Turkey, Iran, Brazil and the United States. The demand for watermelon in Nigeria is far greater than the supply. In fact, watermelon is imported from Niger, Chad and other neighbouring countries to fill the supply gap.
There is need for a large expanse of land to give the vines of the melon ample space to spread very well for a better yield. Watermelon also requires enough sunlight to grow very well. You also need to choose good variety that is marketable in your area of sale.
The only task here is how to acquire land. Once you get you land either by leasing or buying the rest are simple. Loamy soil or silt loam soil is best for watermelon farming. A well-drained heavy soil may also be good for it. No waterlogged soil is good for planting the crop. Watermelon has three planting seasons – early season in March; mid season June 25 to July 15 while late season comes up August 15 to September 15. In the northern part, the early season planting begins in May while the late planting is in July. In the southern states of Ogun and Lagos planting begins in September 15 to October 15 because rainy season lasts up to December.
In planting the seeds, leave about 8ft between one plant and the other for each plant to have ample space to spread the vines and to enable it to give optimal output. The planting should be done during hot weather because it thrives very well in hot weather.
Watermelon can however be planted throughout the year where you have irrigation facilities. Ensure that you water the plants very well with the first two weeks of planting. Thereafter, you limit it to once in two weeks. This helps to increase the sugar content of the fruit. But over-watering it makes the melon to have a watery taste.
Watermelon is pest resistant. So you do not need to worry about pests. And for weeds, you can do the weeding manually or you use appropriate herbicides to clear them.
Watermelon is not easily susceptible to diseases. However, it may develop some diseases. In such a case, the first thing to do is to sought out what the problem is. There are some common diseases that that attack watermelon. They are: Anthracnose: It manifests as small spots on the leaves and the fruits but develops as the leaf or the fruit grows. It may turn black or grey as the case may be. The others are powdery mildew, which makes the leaves to have white powdery substance. This does not however affect the fruit. There is also the downy mildew, which causes angular leaf spots which later turns to yellow and later brown with purple spores in the leaves. All these can be treated with neem oil. In addition, ensure increases circulation of air around the plant by pruning.
At the end of about 85 days the fruit ripens and ready for harvesting and sales. Before then you must have done research on where to sell. You can transport it to the cities, grocery stores, fruit markets, hotels, restaurants, or to some companies who use it as raw materials. Ensure that you have made all the arrangements for the distribution and sales. You can contact dealers who buy in bulk and sell to retailers.
As alluded to earlier, there is a very high demand for watermelon because of its invaluable health benefits for reducing overweight or obesity. It contains enzymes that fight cancer-causing agents in the body. It a fruit which almost everybody likes because it is sweet. It does not require so much capital to start. Watermelon farming is one of the simplest, easiest and fastest in terms of turning in cash in no distant time. Try it and you will be surprised at the outcome. You will succeed!
Cucumber Commercial Farming
Cucumber Farming is another that can make one rich in no time. It is one of the agribusinesses that require low start-up capital, less labour and yet guarantee fast return on investment. Cucumber is a global fruit with creeping vines that spread in all directions.
It is one of the four world healthiest foods such that it is sometimes called super food because of its health and medicinal properties. Cucumber has been found to be rich in Vitamin A, B, C, D, K and other essential minerals necessary for body building and protection. Cucumber is found to be efficacious in the prevention and treatment of cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, treatment for body irritation and body dehydration. It protects bones, prevents constipation, and reduces bad breath and mouth odour. It also protects skin from wrinkles and ageing fast, relieves pain, and many other ailments.
Basically, there are two types of commercial cucumbers – slicing cucumbers meant for fresh consumption and pickling cucumbers for processing into pickles. The difference is that slicing cucumbers have thicker skins and are larger while pickling cumbers have thinner skins and are smaller. The slicing cucumber is long, dark green and smooth-skinned. It is sweet and is about 95 percent water. However, other types of cucumber have assorted colours, sizes, shapes and textures. You will do well if you conduct research to find out the species that is prevalent in your sphere of market and look for the seeds.
The need to write a business plan cannot be over-emphasised in modern agribusiness. The plan would serve as a roadmap for the running of the farm. This gives you a clear picture about how you are to run the farm, where to sell and profitability of the farm. Such a written plan would also stand you in a better stead to obtain loans from banks if need be.
Land Acquisition:
The first step in getting started in cucumber farming is to look for land that is well-exposed to sunshine and a fertile humid soil. Ensure that there is availability of water supply by digging a well in the farm or locating the farm along riverbanks. This is because availability of water is very critical to successful farming.
Having acquired a suitable land, the next step is to clear the land and burn the grass. Then till the land using a tractor or manually if you cannot afford it or if the size of the land does not permit it. Select appropriate seed. Note that there are types. There are foreign, open or closed seeds, hybrid or general seeds. Some seeds produce more than the others do. Study them and pick the type you want. You can seek advice from consultants. Dig holes of about 2.5 cm deep to plant the seed giving a space of about 40cm in between one seed and the other so that the vines would have ample space to spread and to avoid overcrowding. Thereafter you mount stakes where you guide the vines when they develop. Apply organic manure for quality yield but where not available, apply appropriate fertilizer as at and when due. Cucumber can be cultivated throughout the year as long as there is availability of water.
There is need for frequent irrigation of the plants. The water enables them to bear sweet fruits. Without enough water, the fruits would be bitter. That is why availability of water is very critical to producing sweet cucumbers. With constant irrigation the plants would continue to produce instead of withering after the first fruits. I reiterate that water is very critical to the success of cucumber farming.
Use the right herbicides whenever pests diseases attack your farm. This is to ensure that the farm gives you optimal yield, fresh and succulent.
Harvesting:
Unlike other crops, cucumber fruits are harvested before they mature so that the greenness and freshness are not lost. The fruits mature in about 40 to 60 days of planting. After harvesting, they should be transported to areas of sales in airy vans to avoid suffocating them especially for those to be transported for a very long distance.
Marketing of cucumber is very easy because of the high demand for the fruit. It has a general appeal. This is essentially because of the health values of the fruit as mentioned earlier. Apart from the local fruit markets, one can make arrangements to supply to hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, groceries, schools, hospitals, offices; in short, wherever there are people. They need cucumber. Therefore, you have ready market for it. You unique selling point (USP) should be to supply very fresh fruits. This is to beat competition from the one got from the market that is almost pale and overripe. Before you harvest, inform your prospective customers for them to place orders. In this way, you will sell all your produce without hassles. If you do it very well, companies processing cucumbers would be knocking at you doors.
:
Cucumber farming is an agribusiness opportunity that has not been fully exploited in the country and anyone who ventures into it would reap bounteously. One beautiful thing about cucumber is that it is very cheap yet highly profitable. It is a simple business that anyone interested in it can do without previous experience. Those who have tried it are telling good stories. Perhaps, it is your turn. Grab the opportunity, you will succeed!
