The cultivation of 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 pulp with black seed pits. But the work of breeders does not stand still: they cross different varieties and crops and get more and more new watermelon hybrids. 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?

Variety history

More than 20 years ago, a wild watermelon with yellow flesh, but completely unsuitable for consumption, was crossed with a common edible, with a red heart. The result is a hybrid of a watermelon with a yellow, sweetish pulp. Round-shaped yellow watermelon is massively grown in Italy, oval-shaped berry - in Thailand.

In 2015, 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

Yellow watermelon cutaway

General characteristics of yellow watermelon

Watermelons with yellow flesh are characterized by a rather low cold resistance, their cultivation in open ground is possible only in the southern regions of the country. In the rest of the cooler parts of Russia, yellow hybrids are planted in greenhouses and hotbeds.

Note! New hybrids of this culture have good resistance to temperature extremes.

The parameters of the bushes of such watermelons also have distinctive features: their whips, in comparison with ordinary varieties of watermelons, are very delicate and brittle, therefore, when carrying out care activities, you need to handle them carefully and carefully.

The characteristics of the fruits, in addition to the color of the flesh, also differ from the red ones: watermelons ripen small, the rind is thin, most often dark green, the stripes are barely noticeable, there are practically no seeds. The taste is significantly inferior to the red-fruited varieties and is considered moderately sweet, but among the yellow hybrids there are also those in which this indicator is considered excellent.

Yellow watermelon is indistinguishable from red

Yellow watermelon is indistinguishable from red

The benefits of yellow watermelon are due to the set of components that make up the pulp. It is rich in vitamins A, B9, C, E and trace elements (calcium, iron, magnesium, etc.). Such watermelons can harm only those who have individual intolerance. Limiting their use (due to sugar content) is recommended for people with kidney disease or diabetes.

The rest of the features of the most popular watermelon hybrids with yellow flesh are given below in table form for clarity.

IndexLunarGolden GracePrince hamlet
SelectionRussianHollandRussian
Ripening terms70-90 days from germination, early maturing70-75 days from disembarkation of seedlings, mid-season70-80 days from germination, early maturing
Weight and shape of the fetus3-4 kg, oval6-8 kg, rounded1-2 kg, rounded
Taste qualitiesSweet juicy pulp with a lemon flavorCrispy juicy pulp with a sugar content of 10-11%Excellent, sweet flesh with a honey flavor
Yield1.6 kg / m 26-8 kg per bush4-6 kg per bush

Important! The well-known hybrid of the watermelon Gift of the Sun can also be attributed to yellow, but its distinctive feature is the yellowish color of the rind, and the usual pulp is red.

Agrotechnics

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 +600C for 2-3 hours;
  • pickling 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

Yellow watermelon in the garden

Seedling care includes watering, loosening and feeding. The optimum 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 landing, 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 that can be easily moved around 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 2-3 cm.

The scheme for planting watermelons in the greenhouse provides for the obligatory 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.

Care

Watering mode. Depending on the stage of development of watermelon bushes, their watering regime changes. Immediately after planting, they are watered every other day, and then 1-2 times a week.

Watering should be abundant - at least 3-7 liters per bush. More frequent watering will cause the fruit to crack. Watering stops when the fruits reach the varietal size.

Top dressing. The first of them is carried out within 1.5 weeks after planting. During the period of active plant growth, it is recommended to apply nitrogenous fertilizers. During flowering, fertilizing with nitrogen must be replaced with the introduction of potassium and phosphorus-containing mineral fertilizers. Only if this rule is followed will the watermelons be sweet.

Important! For watermelons to be large, they must be fed at least 3 times after landing in a permanent place.

Formation. In greenhouse conditions, yellow watermelon is grown mainly in one stem, which is tied to a trellis already 10 days after planting. Growing watermelons in greenhouse conditions is rarely practiced. The rest of the competing shoots must be pinched in time.

When tying watermelons, when they become the size of a chicken egg, it is necessary to normalize their number: leave only 2-3 fruits (depending on weight characteristics), and remove the rest of the ovaries. As long-term practice shows, it is not recommended to leave a larger number of fruits - their sizes will be much smaller than varietal ones.

Important! The main stem is pinched only after the required amount of fruit has been tied on it. Its top is removed by counting 3 leaves from the extreme ovary.

When the fruits of the watermelon grow to the size of an apple, they need to be placed in nets and hung on a trellis. In this case, the watermelons gaining weight will not fall to the ground, but will ripen safely on the stalks.

Disease prevention. During the season, watermelons can be affected by various diseases caused by fungi (various types of rot, fusarium, anthracnose) and viruses (mosaic). All of them occur either with improper care, or with the planting of infected seeds. As a preventive measure, it is necessary to pickle the seeds before sowing, observe crop rotation when preparing the planting site, and during care pay special attention to weeding, regulation of temperature and humidity conditions. In addition, once every two weeks, it is recommended to carry out preventive spraying of the bushes with fungicides or herbal infusions.

Pest control. Most often, greenhouse watermelons are attacked by spider mites and melon aphids. Both of these pests settle on the undersides of leaves and cause enormous damage to plants. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically inspect the watermelons for their appearance. Depending on the area affected by pests, you can simply remove the leaves from the plant, use deterrent infusions from available tools, or buy special chemicals.

The yellow watermelon is incredibly sweet and delicious

The yellow watermelon is incredibly sweet and delicious

Advantages and disadvantages of yellow flesh watermelons

There are several advantages of yellow watermelon hybrids:

  • unusual view on the cut;
  • rich composition of vitamins and minerals;
  • almost complete absence of bones;
  • small fruit size with relatively fast ripening times;

The disadvantages of yellow watermelons compared to regular red ones are:

  • poor resistance to disease;
  • short shelf life of fruits (1-2 months);
  • high cost of planting material;
  • moderate sweetness of the fruit.

The latter drawback is more than offset by interesting notes of mango, lemon, honey, etc., depending on the specific choice of the hybrid.

Correct planting and competent care allow to grow such exotic things as watermelon with yellow flesh in summer cottages in any part of the country.