Contents
Until recently, many residents of Our Country could not even imagine that they would be able to grow watermelons on their plots. These fruits have always been associated with distant southern countries, where the sun shines almost all year round and the weather is hot.
But everything is changing, the work of breeders does not stand still, new covering materials and technologies appear that make it possible to provide young watermelon plants with relatively comfortable conditions for development. But still, the main role in the possibility of growing watermelons in relatively northern regions was played by the emergence of new ultra-early varieties and hybrids.
By the way, the debate about what is better to plant: varieties or hybrids of watermelons has not ended. Most farmers and producers of agronomic products prefer seeds of watermelon hybrids, and preferably of foreign origin. Indeed, often only with their help you can get really early products and be competitive in the market. Among such hybrids, watermelon Karistan f1 is very popular due to a whole range of characteristics that are attractive for both buyers and sellers.
Hybrid description
The hybrid variety of watermelon Karistan was bred by breeders of the Dutch company Syngenta Seeds BV at the very beginning of the 2007st century. In our country, it has become known since 2012, and in XNUMX it was already included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of Our Country. For the hybrid Karistan, two main regions of tolerance were identified – the Nizhnevolzhsky and Ural. Thus, experts admitted that it is possible to grow Karistan watermelon in the open ground of the Chelyabinsk and even the Kurgan region.
The seeds of this hybrid are found on sale mainly in large farm packages of 100 or 1000 pieces, packaged directly by the manufacturer, the Syngenta company. The color of Karistan watermelon seeds in such packages is reddish due to their preliminary treatment with Tiram fungicide.
The hybrid belongs to one of the earliest ripe watermelons. The first harvest of ripe fruits can be made already 62-75 days after the appearance of full shoots. Thanks to such precocious characteristics, Karistan watermelon can be grown at the earliest possible time using a variety of covering materials. And you can sow the seeds directly in open ground, but even in this case, the fruits of this hybrid, as a rule, have time to ripen before the onset of cold weather.
Watermelon Karistan plants have great growth power and high productivity potential. The main lash is of medium length. Medium-sized leaves are distinguished by weak dissection and various shades of green.
Hybrid Karistan is characterized by good fruit set even under the most adverse weather conditions. The resistance of Karistan watermelon to the main pathogens is at a good level – we are talking mainly about Fusarium wilt and anthracnose. Also, this hybrid is characterized by a special resistance to sunburn.
When growing watermelon Karistan on a rainfed land (land without irrigation), the yield is from 150 to 250 c/ha. The first two harvests already make it possible to obtain from 55 to 250 centners of fruits per hectare. And if you use high growing technologies, including, first of all, drip irrigation and regular nutrition of Karistan plants, then the yield can easily be increased up to 700 c/ha. And we are talking about marketable watermelons, which retain a decent appearance, suitable for sale.
Characteristics of watermelons
The fruits of the hybrid Karistan belong to one of the most common types of watermelon, named after the variety, Crimson Suite. They have the following characteristics:
- The shape of watermelons is oblong, you can call it oval.
- The size of the fruit is average and above average, the weight of one watermelon is on average 8-10 kg, but can reach 12-16 kg.
- The main color of the shell is dark green; lighter stripes shimmer against this background, sometimes diverging, sometimes narrowing.
- The bark is thin, sometimes turning into a medium one.
- The flesh of watermelons is bright red, sometimes turning into dark red, very juicy, crispy with a dense structure.
- Taste qualities are rated as good and excellent.
- The fruits of the hybrid Karistan contain from 7,5 to 8,7% of dry matter and from 6,4 to 7,7% of various sugars.
- Seeds are small, black.
- Preservation is good, watermelons are able to maintain their commercial quality for two weeks after harvest.
- The fruits of the Karistan hybrid are well tolerated even by long-term transportation.
Peculiarities of growing
For residents of most regions of Our Country, for the successful cultivation of watermelons, the most important thing is to meet the deadlines when there is enough heat and sunlight for the full ripening of watermelon berries. To speed up these processes apply:
- Intensive care technologies that involve the additional use of growth stimulants and a variety of fertilizers, both mineral and organic.
- Shelter of watermelons during the entire growth or only in the first phase of development with protective materials: agrofiber or various types of film.
For an accelerated start, they also use the seedling method of growing, without which it is almost impossible to grow full-fledged watermelons of this hybrid in the conditions of the middle lane.
Growing seedlings begins with warming the seeds of watermelon Karistan in water with the addition of stimulants at a temperature of +50°+55°C. You can wait for the appearance of small sprouts, or you can immediately germinate the seeds by placing them 2-3 pieces in separate containers filled with light soil. The soil for seedlings of watermelons should contain up to 50% sand with the addition of peat and sod land.
Seeds germinate at elevated temperatures, around +30°C. To create an additional greenhouse effect, it is advisable to cover each container with glass or a piece of film.
After the emergence of seedlings, seedlings are taken out to the most illuminated place. The temperature may be cooler, but not lower than +20°C. Gradually, it is desirable to bring it up to + 15 ° + 16 ° С. Already a month after the emergence of seedlings, young plants of watermelon Kristan can and should be planted in a permanent place. If weather conditions do not allow this, then it is necessary to build additional shelters, since the root system of watermelons is very sensitive. And when the seedlings outgrow, it will be more and more difficult to transplant it. The optimal age of seedlings for transplantation is 20-25 days and at the same time it should have about 3-4 true leaves.
When planting seedlings of the Karistan hybrid, it is necessary that each plant has at least 1 square meter of land, and even more is better.
Sowing seeds of Karistan watermelon directly into the ground is preferable, since the plants develop much faster and look more resistant to all sorts of adverse factors. But, unfortunately, without shelters this is possible only in the southern regions of our country.
For northerners, sowing pre-heated and germinated seeds in a tunnel film greenhouse with additional protection with non-woven covering material is quite suitable. The timing of such sowing can vary from early to mid-May. The bed for sowing is preliminarily shed with boiling water. In this case, the Karistan watermelon will have time to develop and bear ripe fruits by the end of July – August.
Testimonials from truck drivers
Watermelon Karistan is most often grown by farmers, primarily because its seeds are packaged and sold in fairly large volumes. But sometimes they fall into the hands of ordinary summer residents, and then the results exceed all expectations.
Conclusion
Watermelon Kristan may be of interest to many enthusiastic gardeners with its early ripening, unpretentiousness and at the same time high taste. This hybrid is able to produce a crop even in difficult conditions.
