Watermelon Producer: variety description, characteristics and cultivation with photo

Producer variety watermelon is considered quite promising and enjoys well-deserved popularity. Even in not particularly favorable years, subject to all the requirements for the care of a watermelon, the producer gives good harvests. This variety is often used by farmers. It also grows well on an industrial scale.

Characteristics of the variety, advantages and disadvantages

This variety has both obvious advantages and disadvantages. A description of each follows.

1. Crop with proper care provides a stable harvest.
2. The rind of the berry is quite thin. The taste of the pulp is sweet, the texture is dense, grainy.
3. The fruits have a high density, which allows them to be transported over fairly long distances.
4. Producer watermelon retains both appearance and great taste for a long time.
5. This variety can be grown both outdoors and indoors.
6. Has a high flavor profile.

These qualities make the berry of this variety the leader among watermelons.

The fruits are early ripening, ripening approximately 60-70 days after planting. Productivity is good, but much depends on growing conditions. On average, 8-10 kg can be collected from one square meter. If this watermelon is grown on an industrial scale, then the yield is about 100 q per 1 hectare.

He is quite resistant to various types of diseases.

However, with all the advantages, this variety has its drawbacks:

• quite moody and requires careful maintenance, and therefore not the best choice for beginners;
• very dependent on sunlight and weather;
• requires timely watering and special feeding.

With insufficient care and lighting, the yield can be quite low, and the fruits themselves are of poor quality (small and unsweetened). Sometimes the berries may be underripe on the inside, although the appearance may indicate otherwise.

It is worth noting that with proper agricultural technology and proper care, all shortcomings are relative.

The berries are oval in shape. The pulp of a ripe fruit is bright red, very sweet, contains a large amount of sugar. As a rule, white streaks are absent. The seeds are closer to the rind.

How it was bred and the region of growth

Watermelon Producer - the result of the work of American breeders with another popular variety Crimson Sweet.

The distribution area is very large - Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, southern regions of Russia.

How to grow watermelon Producer

If we are talking about growing this crop in regions with a warm climate, then in this case it is permissible to plant the seeds in a wave directly into open ground. For a cooler middle band, the method of growing in the form of seedlings is more suitable. This will reduce the ripening period by about half a month.

In areas where the climate is very cool, this variety is cultivated exclusively in greenhouses.

Planting seeds for seedlings

For seedlings, you should choose cold-resistant hybrids of the Producer variety. When preparing for sowing, you need:

• put seeds in 3% sodium chloride solution (common table s alt);
• floating seeds are removed as they will not sprout;
• seeds that have settled to the bottom, take out and rinse thoroughly;
• dry for a short time, and then send to heat up for about two hours at a temperature of 50-60 degrees;
• to ensure the disinfection of seeds, you should lower them into a solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate);
• place the seeds on a flat surface and cover with a cloth so they can germinate.

Soil for growing the Producer variety can be purchased at a special shop. This will provide higher yields. But for amateur cultivation, it is quite possible to make the mixture yourself at home by mixing humus with peat and adding sawdust.

Plant seeds in April. In order not to injure the roots, it is better to plant the seeds in peat pots. After the pots are watered, covered with a film for faster germination. Seedlings require good light.

Landing in open ground

After the appearance of 4-5 leaves, watermelon can be placed in open ground. To do this, make beds about 5 centimeters deep. Seedlings should be planted at intervals of 2-3 centimeters and dug in.

Since this variety is thermophilic, it is necessary to plant sprouts only when the minimum air temperature is above fifteen degrees. At temperatures of twelve degrees and below, plant growth will stop.

Formation of bushes

If the watermelon is grown in a greenhouse, then the shoot is formed in the form of only one stem. It must be tied to a support. Lateral shoots less than 50 cm long are removed so that they do not cover the growing berries with a shadow.

A large number of ovaries will require more time to ripen. No more than 3 pieces are left on each of the shoots, the rest must be removed.

On the main stem, two stepchildren are left. When the ovary appears, the lash is pinched every three leaves. This method ensures that three berries will ripen at the same time.

If a watermelon of this variety is planted in open ground, then the bushes are formed into three stems, and then the tops are pinched.

Although this is a sun-loving plant, the fruits should be placed in a small shade during the ripening period.

To do this, in a particularly hot time, each berry can be covered with other plants with large leaves, for example, burdock.

In areas where the temperature in spring and early summer is not warm enough, farmers resort to tricks. One of them is the construction of a small greenhouse over seedlings using a film. It is removed in the second half of June in cloudy weather or in the evening so that the sun does not burn the young plants.

Water and fertilize

Due to the fact that watermelons have good drought tolerance, plants should be watered moderately depending on the stage of growth. When the watermelon is in bloom, you need to water about twice a week, this will be more than enough.

If the weather is very hot, then you need to water it every 7-8 days. And when the time comes for the formation of the fruits themselves, their watering should be limited. Already at the stage of ripening watermelon berries, the Producer recommends stopping watering.

During maturation, it is recommended to use top dressing regularly to increase the yield. It is recommended to fertilize in moist soil.

It is possible to replace the regular fertilization of the soil with the preliminary addition of ash or humus to the soil before planting the seeds.

How to tell if a berry is ripe

The outer color of the berry is alternating light and dark green stripes. By how much they contrast, one can judge the ripeness of the watermelon.

You can also find out about the degree of maturity of a berry by the peel. When the watermelon begins to ripen, the color of the skin changes from matte to shiny.

Scratches on the fruit itself can also serve as an indicator of maturity. These are traces of crows' beaks. Birds will not touch an unripe watermelon.

In order not to make a mistake, and not to let the plant overripe and not to pluck it unripe, you need to look at the stalk. It becomes dry when the watermelon is ripe.

Harvest and storage of crops

Watermelons are harvested only after the berries reach the first degree of removable maturity, usually it occurs 5-6 days before the full ripening of the fruit.

If watermelons are picked earlier, then most likely they will not ripen in storage, and berries picked later will not be suitable for long-term storage.

When picked in time, the fruit has pink flesh, which after a certain time, called "laying", will turn bright red.

The best conditions for storing fruits will be a temperature of 1-4 degrees and a humidity of 70-80%.

There are several ways to store watermelons of this variety:

1. Put the watermelon in a box lined with dry moss.
2. You can put watermelons in barrels and cover them with ashes.
3. You can wrap a watermelon with cotton cloth, put it in a net and hang it from the ceiling of the cellar.
4. Berries can be covered with a layer of wax or paraffin 5 mm thick and lowered for storage in the cellar.

Watermelon can be successfully stored up to 6 months if the storage rules are followed.

Recommended