Yellow watermelon: appearance, benefits and harms, cultivation and varieties

Growing watermelons in summer cottages throughout the country (even in its coldest regions) is considered commonplace - many gardeners devote a plot in the garden or in a greenhouse for this melon crop. Typically, watermelon has a red sugar flesh with black seed pits. But the work of breeders does not stand still: they cross various varieties and crops and get more and more new hybrids of watermelons. One of the most exotic species is a berry with a yellow pulp. What is a yellow watermelon, what is it crossed with and how to grow it?

Benefit

In terms of nutrient content, yellow watermelon is not like red. It contains the following vitamins: A, B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, E, C, PP. A piece (about 150 grams) contains about 38 kcal, 0 g of fat, 11 g of carbohydrates and 1 g of fiber. A watermelon snack is able to provide a person with 17% of the average daily need for vitamin A and 21% of vitamin C. In addition, he has a lot of calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, sodium, phosphorus.

It supports immunity against viruses and other infections. It is the best diuretic and body cleansing product. Watermelon is able to remove unnecessary decay products from the gastrointestinal tract. Watermelon has a positive effect on the eyes, prevents their diseases. Calcium improves nails, hair and bones. And iron, magnesium and potassium have a good effect on the heart and blood vessels, reduce the chance of anemia formation. It is an ideal dietary product, low in calories and nutritious. Ego is recommended for obese people.

Harvesting and storage

From mid-July, watermelons are prepared for harvest. A piece of plywood is pinned under each berry to protect it from decay. Watering is reduced so that the fruit acquires its sweetness. When harvesting, it is important to pay attention to the signs of ripening, since after harvesting the berries do not ripen.

Signs of maturation include:

• The skin turns yellow or white at the point of contact with the ground.
• The crust acquires a characteristic sheen.
• When tapped, the fruits give a dull sound.
• The tail of the watermelon began to dry out.

After harvesting, the berries are stored upside down at a temperature of 10 - 16 ° C, in a room with high humidity.

How to grow a yellow watermelon

Yellow watermelon is no less picky about cultivation technology, like its other type. It requires a lot of light, dry weather, irrigation regime and fertile soil. It can be planted through seeds or seedlings. The soil should be loose and fertilized with mineral fertilizers and humus. In order to plant seedlings in May, it is necessary to sow in a greenhouse from April. Yellow watermelon can be cultivated not only in the field, but also in the greenhouse on the trellis. The plant is endowed with a powerful root system. The best region for growing watermelon is in the south, in other regions the berries may be of lower quality (the fruits are smaller in size and not as sweet).

Agrotechnics

Watermelon Siberian Lights

Yellow watermelon is grown in the same way as other representatives of this melon culture, so there are no special differences in its agricultural technology. Below is a traditional technology for cultivating a watermelon in a protected ground.

Preparation of planting material

In warmer regions, sowing of watermelon seeds is carried out directly into the soil of the greenhouse, while for other regions it is recommended to plant by seedlings (in this case, the bushes will begin to develop and bear fruit faster). In any case, the seeds must be warmed up and soaked before planting. These operations will help the seeds to awaken and stimulate the formation of female flowers. Seed preparation for sowing includes:

• warming up at a temperature of + 60C for 2-3 hours;
• etching in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 0.5 h;
• soaking until the seedlings hatch.

The seeding depth for the seedling method is 4-5 cm. Usually, 2 seeds are placed in one planting container, and after the emergence of seedlings they are thinned out, but due to the high cost of yellow watermelon seeds, there is a separate pot for each seed.

Yellow watermelon in the garden

Seedling care includes watering, loosening and feeding. The optimal age of seedlings for planting in a permanent place is 30-40 days. Since planting is possible only when the soil in the greenhouse warms up to + 160C, suitable conditions are created in May, which means that sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out around April.

The final stage of preparing watermelon seedlings for planting is hardening.

Important! Pre-hardened watermelon seedlings become resistant to temperature extremes.

Planting yellow watermelons

Before planting, special attention should be paid to the preparation of the seat. The sunniest (southern) side of the greenhouse is allocated for watermelons. Planting can be carried out in large buckets, which are convenient to move in the greenhouse or garden beds. In any case, the soil must be loose. For this, peat, sawdust, humus, compost, sand, etc. are placed in the garden bed (bucket). and sprinkle with a layer of earth of 2-3 cm.

The scheme for planting watermelons in a greenhouse provides for the mandatory tying of the lashes of the bushes and the fruits themselves to the trellis, therefore, when planting, leave a distance of 70 cm between seedlings and 70 cm for row spacing. After planting, each seedling is slightly spud, forming a slide 1.5-2 cm high.

The best yellow watermelon hybrids

Popular hybrids of this exquisite berry, which are on sale in the online store "Seed Supermarket":

1. Orange King F1 (NongWoo Bio)

- early (55-60 days) yellow watermelon hybrid. Fruits are large, round, weighing 8-11 kg. The bark is dense, light green with dark stripes. The pulp is rich orange in color, juicy, crunchy, aromatic and sweet. The hybrid combines high taste and unusual presentation.

2. Primagold F1 (Semo)

Is a very early hybrid. The berries are round, weighing 3-4 kg. The bark is dark green with stripes, thin. The pulp is yellow, juicy, sweet. Contains 11-12% sugar. A small amount of seeds. Designed for planting in the field, ideal for trading on the fresh market. The hybrid has high taste and good presentation. Easy to transport. It attracts attention due to the yellow pulp, which is unusual for a watermelon.

3. Suga Yellow F1 (NongWoo Bio)

- an early ripe (58-60 days) hybrid of a watermelon, belongs to the Suga Baby (Ogonyok) type, created for the fresh market. Excellent marketability and transportability. Uniform elongated berries with a dark green skin. The pulp is fleshy, juicy with a beautiful yellow color. The average weight of a watermelon is 3-4 kg. Amazing sweet, delicate taste and aroma, sugar content 11.5-12.5%. The hybrid is very easy to grow and does not require any special care.

Variety history

More than 20 years ago, a wild watermelon, which has yellow flesh, but is completely unusable, was crossed with an ordinary edible one, with a red heart. The result is a hybrid of a watermelon with a yellow, sweetish pulp. A round-shaped yellow watermelon is massively grown in Italy, an oval-shaped berry in Thailand.

In 2020, our compatriots in Astrakhan bred a hybrid of the Lunny watermelon with yellow pulp, it quickly gained immense popularity and is grown in many Russian gardens.

Yellow watermelon cutaway

The miracle of selection

Unusual fruits, as if filled with the sun inside, were bred in the 80s of the last century. They are the result of crossing the cultivated watermelon with its wild relative, the colocynth, which grows in southern Africa.

The hybrid first appeared in Thailand, significantly displacing the red "brother" in the market. The inhabitants of the Asian kingdom are very fond of yellow, which, according to the philosophy of feng shui, symbolizes wealth and prosperity. They believe that the "sunny" melon culture will attract both of them into their lives, therefore they confidently choose the appropriate varieties when buying.

Thailand is the largest exporter of yellow watermelons, along with Spain, where farmers also prefer a new hybrid with an unusual color. The fruits grown in both countries differ in shape and size. Thai - larger, oblong, Spanish - smaller and round. The former can be seen in European stores in winter, the latter at a more familiar time, in the summer. Therefore, fans of berries and fruits have the opportunity to feast on the "sunny" hybrid all year round, and not only in the short August season.

In addition to Thailand and the southern regions of Spain, yellow watermelon grows in other regions with tropical or subtropical climates: Indonesia, Malaysia, Israel, Turkey in the Philippines, etc.

One of the most delicious varieties to date was bred in 2007 by the Astrakhan breeder from the All-Russian Research Institute of Melon and Vegetable Growing, Sergei Sokolov. The hybrid called "Lunny" is highly resistant and suitable for growing in areas with a temperate climate.

Description of exotic culture

Uncut fruits with a yellow heart are no different from ordinary red ones. Only in some varieties, the stripes on the peel darken during ripening and become almost invisible. The "sunny" berry rarely grows very large, its maximum weight is up to 8 kg.

Hybrid fruits borrowed yellowness from their wild "ancestor". This is the only thing that breeders needed in this case, because the taste of colocynth, to put it mildly, is unpleasant, and some specimens are generally poisonous.

In yellow melons, there is a very small percentage of lycopene, a carotenoid pigment that gives vegetables and fruits their characteristic red hue. The substance is found in tomatoes, guava, papaya, pink grapefruit and of course, in traditional varieties of watermelon pulp. Lycopene is one of the most powerful antioxidants, with pronounced anti-cancer, immunostimulating and anti-aging properties.

So yellow hybrids are not as useful as their bright red "cousins"? In such varieties, the almost complete absence of lycopene is compensated by a high level of another equally powerful antioxidant - beta-carotene or provitamin A. It has a similar effect on the body. Beta-carotene produces retinol (vitamin A), a well-known source of youth, health and beauty. In addition, the "sun" berries are rich in vitamin C - one slice contains 21% of the daily value of this substance.

There are other differences between melon "relatives" with different pulp colors.

Yellow watermelons:

• smaller in size, so they are called "baby", like special small bananas;
• have a thinner, but at the same time tough peel - they do not make candied fruits or jam from it;
• almost seedless, and those bones that are small and soft;
• the structure of the pulp is closer to pineapples: it is dense, juicy and crunchy;
• the taste is not sugar, but honey, with the finest shades;
• smell like exotic fruits.

The composition of trace elements in all watermelons, regardless of the variety, is identical. Most of all potassium and sodium - therefore, the fruits have a pronounced diuretic effect, relieve swelling, regulate the functions of the heart and kidneys. There is also a lot of iron, magnesium, calcium and selenium.

Taste

In hybrids, the characteristic "watermelon" notes are not felt. The different varieties can taste like lemon, mango, pineapple, honey, and apricots. Some fruits of selection are similar to pumpkin, such as, for example, "kavbuz" bred by Ukrainian melon growers. It is not eaten raw, only added to cereals, casseroles and pancakes.

Unripe babies also have a pumpkin flavor. It remains in the specimens brought to stores green, and then "reached the standard" on the shelves. Therefore, having tried the imported exotic for the first time, you can experience disappointment.

To really enjoy the "sunny" melons, you need to choose fully ripe specimens of high quality varieties. A table with a description of the most popular of them will help in this.

Hybrids of "sunny" shades are slightly more caloric than their red "counterparts" - 38 kcal versus 27 kcal / 100 g, respectively. But they are better absorbed and cleanse the body.

And these are not all the useful properties of exotics melons.

Sweet but not sugar

The main advantage of the hybrid culture is the lower sugar content compared to conventional watermelons. Despite the increased calorie content, this is the best option for all diets associated with weight loss.

Unlike red, baby watermelon is recommended for people with diabetes.

Some are repelled by the unusual color of the fruit - fears immediately arise that this is a genetically modified, and therefore harmful, product. But the hybrid was the result of long-term labor of breeders, who, by crossing, achieved the shade of colocynth pulp while preserving the other qualities of the cultivated watermelon. "Sunny" fruits are beneficial for the same health problems as traditional ones.

1. In the complex therapy of eye diseases.

1. For frequent colds and viral infections to strengthen the immune system.

1. If there are small kidney and bladder stones. But in this case, you definitely need a doctor's consultation so as not to worsen the situation.

1. To normalize the work of the cardiovascular system and reduce blood pressure. The diuretic properties of the plant and the presence of magnesium in its composition help here.

1. When it is necessary to effectively eliminate constipation, including chronic constipation, improve intestinal motility. It is an excellent remedy for heartburn and gastrointestinal inflammation.

1. If you need to relieve spasms of the bronchi and lungs, for example, with asthma or a strong cough.

With caution, yellow watermelons should be eaten with pyelonephritis, intestinal ulcer, pancreatitis and low blood pressure. Pregnant women should also not get carried away with a tasty product, since in large quantities it can provoke edema.