Externally, watermelons with yellow pulp can be confused with the usual red berry, because their peel is also painted in green tones, covered with stripes or spots of darker shades. In shape and size, such watermelons are also similar to ordinary ones, but they can be accurately distinguished by the appearance of the inside, taste and even aroma. What kind of watermelons are these, how do they differ from ordinary ones and how are they grown, we will find out further.
Appearance story
Yellow watermelon was bred several decades ago as a result of an experiment by breeders who crossed two types of berries - ordinary melon and wild. From the former, he inherited sweetness and juiciness, and from the latter, the color of the flesh. It is worth noting that wild watermelon alone is not eaten, as it has an extremely unpleasant taste.
Suspicions that the yellow watermelon was bred through the use of GMO technologies with the introduction of the lemon or mango genome into them were completely rejected by scientists, and the only reason for the yellow color of the flesh of the hybrid is the “inheritance” from the wild watermelon.
Initially, yellow watermelons were widely grown in the Mediterranean countries and in Thailand, but today they are popular all over the world. In Russia, they grow not only in the regions of the middle zone, but also in adverse climatic conditions of the Urals and Siberia, since they bear large fruits even in the absence of bright Mediterranean sun and heat.
Yellow watermelon is also known as "moon" or "baby." In Thailand and Spain, such a berry is in greater demand than red, and if Thais mainly prefer oval varieties, then Italians prefer round.
Description of characteristics
The watermelon with yellow flesh resembles an ordinary berry in terms of its external characteristics, but if you look closely, you can note some differences. Firstly, their peel has a darker color, and secondly, it can be monophonic, that is, devoid of stripes. At the same time, “baby” always has a flesh of a light or brighter yellow color.
Fruits can weigh from 3 kg to 10 kg. The largest berries ripen in the hot southern climate. In the northern regions, watermelons weighing in the range of 3-5 kg ripen.
Energy value
The nutritional value of one slice of watermelon (about 150 g) is as follows:
- calorie content: 38 kcal;
- fiber: 1 g;
- carbohydrates: 6.2 g;
- proteins: 0.6 g;
- fats: 0.1 g
One slice of watermelon contains 17% of the daily intake of vitamin A, 21% - vitamin C. In addition, the berry is rich in calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, sodium and phosphorus. The composition of watermelon contains virtually no fats and cholesterol, so it is considered a low-calorie foods and can be used during weight loss. The berry may also be present in the diet of people with obesity or atherosclerosis.
Some watermelons of this subspecies have a taste of lemon, mango and pumpkin, so they are especially appreciated by gourmets. However, the composition of such berries remains unchanged - they include fiber, glucose and fructose, vitamins and trace elements.
Beneficial features
Watermelon with yellow pulp is valued for the following beneficial properties:
- strengthens the protective properties of the body, helping to resist the effects of infections and viruses, because it contains ascorbic acid;
- it has a diuretic effect, effectively cleanses the organs of the gastrointestinal tract from decay products and excess fluid, normalizes the digestive system due to the content of dietary fiber;
- strengthens eyesight and prevents the development of eye diseases, saturating the body with vitamin A;
- improves the condition of nails, hair and bones due to the content of calcium;
- acts well on the heart and blood vessels, reducing the likelihood of developing anemia and anemia, as it saturates the body with iron, magnesium and potassium;
- stabilizes intercellular metabolism due to the content of carotenoids.
The rich composition of minerals and vitamins makes yellow watermelon the most useful product for the cardiovascular system, kidneys and endocrine glands.
Harm and contraindications
Despite all the benefits of yellow watermelon, it can negatively affect the state of the body in case of a number of contraindications. These include:
- bowel problems;
- diabetes;
- renal failure (watermelon increases the burden on the kidneys);
- individual intolerance.
If there are no such contraindications, watermelon can be safely included in the diet.
Differences from Red Watermelon
Of course, the main difference between the two types of watermelons lies in the color of the flesh. The color inside the yellow watermelon is uncharacteristic for this plant, but the flesh has almost the same nutritional qualities - very juicy and with a pleasant sugar aftertaste. As for the other differences, they look like this:
- the crust on watermelons with yellow flesh is thinner and drier, somewhat reminiscent of a peel on a pumpkin or melon;
- inside the yellow watermelon there are practically no seeds, and when the berry ripens, they darken, but remain thin and soft, resembling the seeds of young zucchini;
- yellow watermelon contains less sugar, so a small amount can be consumed by diabetics, but only with the permission of a doctor;
- the pulp of yellow watermelon has almost the same juiciness and density as the pulp of red, but contains less free juice (water);
- aftertaste after yellow watermelon is longer;
- yellow watermelons ripen faster than red, so they are considered early.
The main varieties and hybrids
Breeders offer a large selection of yellow berry varieties. About a dozen varieties were bred in the territory of the post-Soviet space alone. For example, Ukrainian breeders introduced the Kavbuz hybrid, but it was not widely used because it tastes too much like a pumpkin. What varieties and hybrids of yellow watermelons are in demand today, is presented in the following table:
Grade | Homeland | Specifications |
Lunar | Bred at the All-Russian Research Institute of Melon and Vegetable Growing, located in Astrakhan, by crossing the Astrakhan berry and a wild representative of the melon family. | It is an early ripe variety, the vegetation period of which is 70-90 days. The yield of the moon watermelon is 1.6 kg per 1 sq. Km. m. One berry can weigh 3-4 kg. It has an oval-rounded shape, peel with pronounced stripes, flesh of a bright lemon hue and a specific taste with mango notes. The variety is resistant to cold. |
Golden Grace F1 | The variety comes from the Netherlands, produced by the seed company Hazera. It is popular among Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian summer residents. | A watermelon hybrid with a vegetation period of 70-75 days. Suitable for growing on different types of soils. The average weight of one fetus is 6-8 kg. It has a rounded oval shape, a crust of light green color with dark stripes and flesh of bright yellow color with small, almost transparent seeds. The variety is resistant to low temperatures and lack of light. |
Yellow dragon | The birthplace of the variety is Thailand. It is in this country that it is often grown, because in this climate zone it gives a full-fledged crop. | The vegetation period of the Yellow Dragon is on average 60-62 days. The weight of one fetus reaches from 4 to 6 kg. It has a rounded shape, but its ends are slightly elongated. The crust is thin and dark in color. The pulp has a bright yellow (canary) color and has a sweet taste that resembles honey. |
Janosik | The heat-loving culture comes from Poland, which is grown in open ground and film tunnels. | It is an original mid-early variety that ripens in 75-82 days. The weight of one berry can be from 3 to 6 kg. Fruits have a rounded or rounded ovoid shape, a light thin crust with subtle stripes and yellow flesh with a low seed content. The variety is resistant to diseases and can be stored without loss of taste. |
Prince Hamlet F1 | Hybrid breeders are not listed, but seeds are produced by manufacturers in many countries, including Russia and the United States. | It is a mid-season hybrid, the ripening period of which is 70-80 days. The yield of the plant is 4-6 kg per 1 sq. Km. The average weight of one fetus is 1-2 kg. It has a rounded shape, a thin crust of dark green color, lemon-yellow flesh without stones and a sweet-rich taste. |
Imbar F1 | A seedless hybrid bred by Israeli selection from Hazera Genetics. | The ripening period of Imbar is 60-65 days. The variety has medium growth power and easily sets fruits in various conditions. The fruits weigh 4-6 kg, have a glossy dark green peel without stripes. The flesh of Imbar is dense and crispy, without seeds and dark yellow or orange. |
Orange method | An early ripe hybrid from Russia, which is bred for the middle lane. | The growing season of the variety is from 60 to 65 days. The weight of one ripe watermelon is small - about 2-2.5 kg. The fruits have a rounded shape, a crust with stripes and flesh of an orange-yellow color, which is distinguished by a honey flavor and increased sweetness (sugar content - 13%). |
Yellow doll | Hybrid from the USA. It can be grown in tight spaces. | An early ripe variety that ripens for 70 days. Fruits grow small - up to 2.2-3 kg. They have an oval shape and a thin crust of light green color, which is covered with almost black stripes. The pulp has a bright lemon yellow color, dense texture, sweet taste and honey aroma. |
Primorange F1 | The birthplace of the hybrid is the Czech Republic. Used for outdoor cultivation. | Ultra-early variety - ripens within 45-50 days. Fruits have a typical round shape and weight up to 3-4 kg. The crust is thin and green, covered with dark green stripes. The pulp is bright orange, sweet (sugar content - 11-12%) and juicy. In the center of the fetus there is a small number of seeds. |
In Russia, such varieties as Lunar, Orange honey, Prince Hamlet and Golden Grace are popular, in the USA - the Yellow Doll, in Thailand - the Yellow Dragon, in Poland - Janusik, in the Czech Republic - Primorange, and in Israel - Imbar.
Growing seedlings
You can sow watermelon seeds for seedlings in late March - early April, so that from about mid-May you can transplant them to a permanent place - in open ground, a greenhouse or a greenhouse. In any case, to get a good harvest, you need to correctly grow seedlings. How to do this, we will understand further.
Training
Before sowing, you will need:
- Choose containers for seedlings. It is extremely capricious in transplanting, because the seedlings are stressed, and the root can suffer, even if slightly disturbed. So that in the future you do not have to face difficulties, for growing seedlings, you should use ready-made containers like peat cups, disposable tableware with drainage holes or cassettes. The optimal volume of the container is 250-300 ml, since it will be easy to get seedlings from it with an earthen lump without disturbing the root system of the plant.
- Prepare substrate. To grow seedlings, you can use a mixture that consists of an equal amount of river sand, peat and land (humus). For every 10 kg of such a substrate, 200-250 kg of wood ash can be added. In order not to cook the composition yourself, in the garden store you can buy a mixture for growing pumpkin crops.
- Prepare seeds. Before planting, the seeds should be soaked for several hours in warm water (50 ° C), and then thrown into a weak solution of potassium permanganate or potassium permanganate for 1-1.5 hours. After soaking, the seeds must be washed with clean water and dried.
Sowing
Once the seeds and substrate are ready, you can sow:
- Fill the container by 2/3 with the substrate.
- Water the soil with warm water.
- Stick 2 seeds into the soil, sprinkle with a peat-sand mixture 2 cm and slightly moisten. If cassettes are used to grow seedlings, one seed must be inserted into each cell filled with a moist substrate. The acceptable depth of their embedding is 3-4 cm.
- Cover the container with a film until the first shoots appear. Move it to a warm and bright place.
Care
It is necessary to carry out such events:
- Watering. With the appearance of the first shoots every other day, moderately water the seedlings along the edges of the container. At the same time, it is forbidden to pour large amounts of water, since water hammer can cause irreparable damage to seedlings.
- Loosening. As soon as a crust forms on the soil, it is necessary to loosen it carefully so as not to damage the root system of the plant.
- Lighting. Watermelon seedlings need a long daylight - about 12 hours. So, in the evening, seedlings should be illuminated with the help of lamps. In addition, artificial lighting comes in handy on cloudy days.
- Temperature mode. With the appearance of the first shoots, the temperature should be reduced to 18ºС within 4-5 days. Subsequently, it should be maintained at 22ºС.
- Top dressing. When the third leaf appears, it is recommended to apply liquid mineral fertilizers and liquid mullein.
- Hardening. It is carried out 2-3 days before transplanting seedlings in open ground. It involves a gradual decrease in temperature, a decrease in the number of irrigation and regular ventilation of the room. This will make the plant more resistant to low temperatures and droughts, and its roots will develop much faster than unhardened plants.
Hardening must be moderate, otherwise the seedlings will slowly develop, and in the worst case, they will not recover at all.
Landing
In open ground, you can plant seedlings with 2-3 real leaves. As a rule, they appear on the 25th day after sowing the seeds. Landing should be done on a site that is well lit by sunlight and heated, and is protected from shadow from the south side. The best soil types for yellow watermelon are sandy and sandy loam.
Before planting, the soil should be loosened 2-3 times, and the last loosening should be carried out directly on the day of planting. You need to plant an earthen lump in moist warm soil, acting as carefully as possible so as not to touch the roots and bores. You need to plant the plant so deep that the root necks are completely underground, otherwise they can be damaged by winds. You need to plant seedlings in holes, the distance between which is about 80 cm.
After planting, seedlings need to be watered so that the soil is compacted, and the roots are not stuck in the air pockets formed during transplanting. In addition, this technique will contribute to the rapid development of the root system of watermelons.
During the week, the seedlings of yellow watermelon will take root and give new leaves.
Yellow Watermelon Care
To collect a full crop, you need to provide competent care for watermelon seedlings. First of all, after planting for several nights, watermelons should be covered overnight if large temperature differences are observed. In addition, care involves such events:
- Watering. Initially, the plant needs to be watered 1 time in 2 days, and after - 1-2 times a week. To watermelons quickly poured and did not experience a lack of moisture, it should be abundant watering, literally pouring melon into the water (30-35 liters per 1 sq. M).
- Top dressing. Planted seedlings are fed with fertilizers common for pumpkin plants. 10 days after landing on 1 square. m area should be 10-15 kg of humus and 25 g of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer. There is another feeding option: after 10 days, fertilize the soil with ammonium nitrate, after 1-2 days with liquid mullein, and after 2-3 weeks with superphosphate. Introduce phosphorus-potassium substances only with the appearance of ovaries.Top dressing will help increase the yield of watermelon, but it should be noted that yellow varieties do not tolerate excess nitrogen fertilizers.
The introduction of large quantities of manure will lead to an extension of the growing season, make the plant more vulnerable to various diseases and form weak fruits with unsweetened flesh.
- Loosening. Before flowering, loosen the soil several times in rows and rows.
- Pinch. In order for the fruits to grow as large as possible, you should leave 2-3 first fruits, and after them, pinch the lash after 3 sheets.
- Disease protection. If ignored by preventive measures, the watermelon can become infected with diseases, which will lead to the formation of poor-quality fruits with poor pulp. So, from the beginning of flowering in the period between rains, the plant should be treated for diseases using fungicides, for example, Ridomil Gold and Quadris.
Unfortunately, when growing yellow watermelons, melon growers sometimes have to face a problem when seedlings are affected by the following diseases and pests:
- Peronosporosis. An infection that causes the leaves to dry, so only the stalks and veins remain at the end. In order not to encounter such a disease, it is required to decontaminate the seed before planting, and subsequently process the planting itself with the help of Oxychoma.
- Anthracnose. Unlike the previous infection, anthracnose affects not just the leaves, but the entire plant. When it goes to the root, the watermelon dies. In the fight against infection, planting can be treated with a suspension of bleach or Bordeaux fluid.
- Melon black aphid. This is a pest that sucks vital juices from a plant. If it affects a watermelon, then insecticides, for example, Inta-Vir or Aktara, can be used against it.
Proper care of the plant will allow you to get a quick crop of yellow watermelons. Ripe fruits can not only be consumed fresh, but also canned and salted.
Harvesting
Around the end of July, the fruits will begin to gain weight, so you can begin preliminary preparation for their collection:
- put plywood under each fruit to prevent decay;
- reduce watering to give the pulp maximum sweetness.
When it is noticed that the fruits have stopped gaining weight, you should wait 2 weeks and only then proceed with the harvest. Attention can be paid to other signs of ripeness of watermelon:
- the peel is white or yellowish in the place where the fetus came into contact with the ground;
- brilliant crust color;
- a dull sound when a berry is tapped;
- dry ponytail.
When harvesting, the signs of ripeness cannot be neglected, because after the cut, the watermelon does not ripen.
If the fruits are already ripe, they should be cut from the stem, and not tear off, and you need to act carefully so as not to damage the crust. Harvested fruits should be laid downside down and kept at a temperature of 10-15 ° C. Humidity should be high - 85-90%.
Yellow watermelon was first obtained by Mediterranean breeders when crossing wild berries with ordinary. Today, such varieties are popular not only in the southern regions, but also in the middle latitudes. So, each melon grower in his garden can grow an original watermelon with a honey flavor and yellow flesh, which can decorate any summer dessert.