Planting Egusi (melon): See How To Plant Egusi (Melon)

Egusi (Citrullus Lanatus) also referred to as melon or wild watermelon is grown for its seeds.

The seeds are used for food and oil production.

The plant serves as a cover crop when growing maize (corn) and cassava. These three are good companions.

Follow the steps below to grow melon successfully in your garden or farm.

Description 

The Egusi plant looks very much like the watermelon plant.

The plants can be confused to be the same, it’s the fruit that most times distinguishes them,

Egusi has a long trailing stem that can be up to 3 m (10 ft) long,

The leaves are green having three to five deep cut lobed leaves each of these leaves are pinnately lobed.

The flowers are yellow in colour, the plant produces male and female flowers that are separated from each other on the same plant 

This is similar watermelon and cucumber

The flowers are pollinated by insects such as bees, it can be self pollinated as well.

The fruit of the plant is a medium sized green round fruit

When cut open it has a white flesh(plum) and yellow seeds.

The white flesh is inedible, the seeds are much larger than that of the watermelon seed 

They look like pumpkin seeds (ugbogoro),

Unlike the watermelon plant when cut open it has a red edible flesh with small black or white seeds.

Watermelon fruits can range from small to large but the melon fruits do not get so big like the big watermelon fruits.

Planting Season for melon

Melon can be planted anytime of the year when irrigation is used,

But it’s planted more at the beginning of the  rainy season, which is usually between March – May in Southern Nigeria.

And June – July in Northern Nigeria.

Planting Egusi (Melon)

Step 1 – Choose a Location

Select a location that has;

Well drained soil, loamy soil is preferred

Good exposure to sunlight.

Good space, it’s a crawling plant and needs lots of ground space.

Step 2 – Land Clearing and Preparation

Clear the selected location by removing grasses, shrubs, and dirt.

Till the soil to soften it,

Apply manure or compost to the soil.

Step 3 – Means of Propagation and Seed Selection

Egusi is propagated through seeds,the shelled egusi seed is used.

Buy egusi seed from a garden or farm store.

Or source seeds from previous harvest.

Select a good looking seed and ensure it has not been tampered with by insects.

Step 4 – Plant the Seed

Make a hole about 2.5 cm (1 inch) deep in the soil.

Place in one melon seed into the hole,

Cover the hole back with soil,

Allow for a spacing of about 30 cm (1 ft) – 60 cm (2 ft) between each plant.

Step 5 – Watering

Water plant immediately after planting and at least three times in a week.

Step 6: Apply Manure

Apply manure or compost before planting and at least once or twice after planting depending on the fertility of your soil.

Maturity and Harvest

Germination takes place about 3 – 4 days after planting,

Wild melon is ready for harvest about 3 – 4 months after planting,

To know if the melon is matured and ready for harvest take note of the vine,

When the vine or stem attached to the melon fruit is withered or dry and has turned brown then the fruit is matured and ready for harvest.

To harvest with a knife cut the vine or stem to detach the fruit from the stem.

How To Process The Melon Fruit To Harvest Seeds

After harvesting the matured melon fruit the next thing to do is to collect the seeds from the fruit 

This requires a process 

With a knife cut the melon at the top carefully to prevent breaking the seeds inside, some people break the fruit open by hitting the fruit.

Do not cut it off completely, the science behind this is to expose the inner part (white flesh or plum) of the plant to allow it soften (decompose)

Thereby giving way for the seed to be collected easily.

After cutting each fruit one at a time, allow the cut part to face the ground

Cutting the melon off completely could expose the melon to pests such as birds which can eat up the entire melon fruit.

To also prevent this after cutting, cover the fruit with a net or tarpaulin.

The decomposition takes about 8 to 12 days to complete.

If the melon fruit is not broken it stays good for several months.

Once the fruit is fully decomposed, the plums at this point are very soft and watery.

With a sieve (metal or plastic) use a seed sieve for this pour in the soft plum and the seed 

Take off the outer green skin as much as possible

Sieve out the white plum 

Add water into the sieve to clean up the seeds, continue adding clean water until the seeds are completely clean.

Repeat the process over and over until all the melon seeds have been harvested

On a clean flat surface or in a tray spread the melon seeds under the sun for the water to dry out.

Once it fully dry, pack it into a clean bag or container and use as needed.

To use the melon seed for soup (egusi soup) the outer yellow skin of the seed is removed and the seed is blended.

Pest and Diseases

Pests

• beetle

Diseases

• Powdery mildew
• Damping off

Pest and Disease Control

• Plant disease resistant varieties 
• Crop rotation 
• Weeding

Hope this article was helpful?