Journal of Crop Production and Processing

A two-year study was conducted to determine the effect of three depths of furrow and three plant row spacing, on irrigation water efficiency, yield and yield components of watermelon (Crimson Sweet cultivar) using a strip split plot arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Three depths of furrow (15, 35 and 55 cm) were considered as horizontal factor and three plant row spacing (25, 50 and 75 cm), were considered as vertical factor. Yield losses of 27 and 43 percent were observed in furrows with the depth of 15 cm, compared to 35 and 55 cm depths, respectively, but there was no significant difference between the furrows with 35 and 55 cm depth. Reduction in the number of fruits per plant was the main cause of yield loss in the 15 cm-deep furrows. Unlike the trend observed for fruit yield, efficiency of irrigation water at furrow with a depth of 15 cm was significantly greater compared with the two furrow depths of 35 and 55 cm. Fruit yield in 75 cm (4500 plant ha^-1) row spacing was 21 and 23 percent lower, than the 50 and 25 cm intervals, respectively. The efficiency of irrigation water was no significantly different in various distances between the rows.