Watermelon Crimson Ruby, Wonder

A great dessert for gourmets – juicy, with melting sweet pulp, slices of watermelon. Amateur gardeners in the middle zone of the country grow early varieties of this huge southern fruit, which have time to ripen in a short summer. Watermelon varieties Crimson Sweet, Crimson Ruby and Crimson Wonder have proven themselves well in household plots.

Characterization

Watermelon variety Crimson Sweet is common in Europe. Among domestic and foreign melon growers, it is considered a standard variety for all indicators, including yield, which is 345 c/ha in the south of Our Country and Kazakhstan. Recommended for commercial production with a planting pattern of 0,9 x 0,9 m. 1 seeds are sown per 4 square meter. Productivity is high – up to 10 kg / m². Sings quickly, is considered a plant of medium early ripening. Crimson Sweet watermelons are ready to eat after 70-80 days of vegetation. Growing in central Our Country is possible in the open field and in greenhouses.

The flowers of early watermelons, such as the Crimson Sweet, form in the axils of the fourth or sixth leaf on the lash, not far from the root. Thus, the plant does not increase the green mass, but creates flowers and ovaries. In conditions of a short warm period, this fact contributes to the rapid harvest of ripe fruits. Watermelon Crimson Sweet was bred in 1963. The variety got its name because of the characteristics of the amazing pulp. From English “crimson sweet” is translated as “raspberry sweet”. The originator of Crimson Sweet watermelon seeds, which are distributed in Europe, is the French company Clause Tezier (Close Tezier). On the basis of the variety, plant hybrids Crimson Ruby f1 and Crimson Wonder were bred.

Description

The plant is medium-sized. The rounded fruits of watermelon resemble a short oval, slightly elongated. This is what distinguishes it from the traditional round varieties Crimson Sweet. A watermelon can reach, with a favorable agricultural background, including climatic conditions, a mass of 8-10 kg. The skin of the fruit is smooth to the touch, matte, dark green, with blurry stripes of light green color.

Sweet, tender and juicy flesh of bright red color, appetizingly crunches while eating, there are no streaks. The attractive, bright fruit of the Crimson Sweet variety has a high sugar content of 12%, which gives a special zest to its rich taste and long, fresh aftertaste. Seeds of the variety are small, there are few of them in the pulp.

Advantages and disadvantages

The fruit of the watermelon Crimson Sweet, judging by its wide popularity, is rated by consumers according to its recognized merits.

• Excellent taste properties;
• High commercial performance;
• Transportability and keeping quality of fruits up to 2 months;
• drought resistance of the plant;
• Low sensitivity of the watermelon variety to anthracnose and fusarium.

In the Crimson Sweet watermelon, gardeners also find shortcomings, the cause of which in most cases is growing errors.

• The wateriness of the pulp of a watermelon occurs when watering is continued when the fruit has already begun to ripen;
• A large lash with numerous leaves and small fruits is formed if the plant was given an excess of nitrogen fertilizers or organic matter;
• Watermelon Whip generates little fruit if it is in poor conditions: depleted soil, peaty soil, or shady location.

Hybrid Crimson Ruby

A variety of early ripe high-yielding watermelon is distributed by the Japanese company “Sakata” (“Sakata”). Watermelon Crimson Ruby f1 has been included in the State Register since 2010 as a crop for cultivation in the North Caucasus region, recommended for commercial production. The variety is marked by a powerful growth of the main lash and leaves that cover the fruits from the rays of the scorching sun. Up to 5,5 thousand Crimson Ruby plants are placed per hectare, in increments of 1,5 – 0,7 m, the yield is 3,9-4,8 kg / m². The variety is drought-resistant, not susceptible to Fusarium, has immunity to powdery mildew, anthracnose and such a common pest as aphids. The fruit ripens after 65-80 days of plant development, the weight of Crimson Ruby f1 watermelons reaches 7-12 kg.

The peel of oval fruits is dense, withstands transportation. The fruit is painted in a dark green shade with characteristic light blurry stripes. Watermelons are very tasty, they are distinguished by a bright dessert aroma and a high level of sugar content: 4-7%. Grainy, without veins, homogeneous pulp comes in different shades – pink or deep red.

There are not too many seeds in the pulp of Crimson Ruby watermelon, they are medium-sized, brown. Seeds are commercially available from several distributors. For large areas, you need to buy seeds in a protective original bag from the Sakura manufacturer.

Hybrid Crimson Wonder

The mid-season watermelon Crimson Wonder, which comes from US selection samples, has been included in the State Register since 2006, and is recommended for the regions of the North Caucasus region. The originator and patent holder is Agrofirm Poisk from the Moscow region. The variety is high-yielding, on irrigated lands it gives 60 t/ha, without irrigation the harvest is halved. The Crimson Wonder variety is planted with a distance of 1,4 x 0,7 m. Watermelons easily tolerate a dry period and a temporary decrease in positive temperature, resistant to fusarium, powdery mildew and anthracnose. Differ in commercial attractiveness and transportability.

Crimson Wonder is a medium climbing plant with medium-sized dissected leaves. Large watermelon fruits weigh up to 10-13 kg, average weight: 3,6-8,2 kg. Round-oval watermelons ripen by the end of the third month of vegetation. Fruits with a strong peel of a light green color and dark uneven stripes. Juicy, crispy, sweet flesh is bright red. The taste of the Crimson Wonder variety is delicate, fresh, with a delicate aroma. Seeds are brown, with small spots, medium size.

Cultivation

Watermelons are a southern crop and belong to the Cucurbitaceae family. All varieties of watermelons are photophilous, cannot stand the slightest frost, and do not develop well in conditions of prolonged wet weather. The climate of central Our Country dictates to amateur gardeners one method of growing watermelons – through seedlings.

• Seeds planted immediately in open ground may die in case of damp and cool weather;
• The method of growing through seedlings accelerates the harvest by one and a half to two weeks;
• Increased resistance of plants to diseases and pests.

Seeding for seedlings

For watermelons, you need to prepare a substrate with the obligatory presence of sand, since the culture prefers sandy soils. Sow early watermelons from mid-April to early May.

• To make seedlings appear faster, the seeds are soaked in warm water (up to 32 ⁰C) for several hours;
• If the seeds are not processed, they are placed for 15 minutes in a pink solution of potassium permanganate or soaked in modern preparations, according to the attached instructions;
• Seeds are deepened by 1-1,5 cm;
• The soil is moderately moistened, the container is covered with a film and placed in a warm place for germination. Every day, the container is ventilated and watered if the substrate is dry;
• Ungerminated seeds germinate in a week or two;
• For sprouts during the first week, the optimum temperature is 18 ⁰C.

Care of seedlings

Crimson Sweet watermelon sprouts prefer to rise at a temperature of 25-30 ⁰C. They need to be illuminated to provide warmth. There is usually enough light in May for a good development of seedlings of crops of southern origin.

• Transfer the seedlings to open ground when the plants are 4-6 weeks old. The soil should at that time warm up to 15-18 ⁰C. Approximately such indicators are at the end of May;
• 15 days before planting, seedlings need to be hardened by taking them out into the air, first for 50-70 minutes, gradually increasing the time spent outdoors.

Plants in the garden

For each variety, its own distance between the holes is set, which is based on the strength of the growth of the lashes. Gardeners advise, with a sufficient area of ​​u1,5buXNUMXbthe plot, not to be stingy with space and to allocate a large place for each melon plant, retreating between the holes of XNUMX m. The culture is grown in spreading or trellises are installed. By tying up the lashes, the side shoots are removed. Seedlings are placed at the depth of the cup in which they grew, slightly spudding with soil.

• The soil is kept in a loose state, systematically watered during the growth of the lash;
• Extra shoots are removed, 2-3 ovaries are enough on the stem;
• Watermelons develop well at temperatures above 30 ⁰C;
• Often, gardeners plant valuable plants on black plastic wrap, which keeps the area clean and insulates the roots;
• Watermelons planted in the slots of the film are watered at 5-7 liters if there is no precipitation;
• When night temperatures drop in August, melons are covered from above so that the fruits can ripen.

There is an interesting experience of Far Eastern researchers who grew watermelons by planting three seedlings on mounds 10 cm high and 70 cm in diameter. The mounds were covered with polyethylene for the whole season, and the plants were stepchildren.

Hobbyists can experiment to grow sweet fruits.

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