Altai melon: description and characteristics of the variety, cultivation and care with photos

Altai melon is very popular due to its pleasant taste and tolerance to low temperatures. How productive is the plant and where is the best place to grow the berry?

Description

Altai - an early ripening variety. Melons ripen 70 days after seed germination. The plant is medium vigorous. The maximum length of the central conductor is 2 m. Flowers and leaves are large.

The shape of the fruit is oval. The golden skin is thin, covered on the outside with a white mesh.The pulp is sweet, fragrant, white or cream color. Weight 1.5-2 kg. Due to their dense structure, melons are well tolerated by transportation over long distances and are stored for a long time. With proper care, the yield of the variety is 25 tons / 1 ha. Melons are intended for fresh consumption, drying, drying. Melon jam is also prepared from the fruits.

Unlike most varieties that need hot weather to grow, Altai can grow in cold regions, in particular, in Altai and Siberia. In addition, the variety tolerates high humidity well.

Features of cultivation

In the southern regions, where the climate is warm and humid, melons are planted in open ground immediately in the second half of May. To reject bad seeds and destroy pathogenic bacteria, planting material is heated for 3-4 hours at a temperature of 50 ⁰С near a heat source or in warm water. Then the seeds are dipped in a 2% saline solution: those remaining on the surface are thrown away, and the sunken ones are pulled out and soaked for half an hour in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

For seedlings, melons are sown in pots with a diameter of 7 cm filled with a mixture of peat, soddy soil, rotted manure (1:1:2). The temperature in the room where the containers are located is maintained at +18 ⁰С. Under the condition of proper treatment and favorable conditions, sprouts appear on the surface 7 days after sowing. As soon as the plants release the 3rd leaf, the seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place.

Soil preparation

For planting melons, a sunny, wind-protected place is taken away on the site. In autumn, the soil is dug deep and organic or mineral fertilizers are applied. On the eve of planting, the procedure is repeated, and the surface is leveled. Consumption of rotted cow manure per 1 sq. m area 3-4 kg. Since Altai melons like to grow in a loose environment, river sand is added to heavy soil. In order for the plants to grow well, it is enough to add 0.5 buckets per 1 sq.m.

Landing

Scheme for planting Altai melons in a greenhouse 60-70 cm, in the garden - 100-140 cm. The optimal depth of the furrows is 5 cm. Before planting, water is poured into the recesses and a handful of humus is placed in places where there will be seeds or seedlings .

Plants of the Altai variety are carefully removed from the pots and placed in holes, so that the earthen ball, in which the root is located, peeks out of the ground a little. After planting, the melons are watered and shaded from hot sunlight with a special screen. In regions that are characterized by strong temperature fluctuations, plantings are covered with a film at night.

Because the bushes of this variety need pollination, a beehive or a fan is brought into the greenhouse before planting the seedlings. If there are few planted plants, pollination is carried out with a brush, touching each flower in turn.

Care

It is a well-known fact that without good care, cultivated plants will not bring the result declared by the manufacturer. Therefore, in order to grow a lot of sweet berries in the garden, the bushes need to be watered, fed, shaped, and the soil needs to be loosened. Agricultural technology:

1. Depending on weather conditions, water is brought in 1-2 times a week. Please note that the soil in the garden where melons grow should be moderately moist, but by no means swampy. Excessive watering is an impetus for the development of rot and fungal diseases. It is especially important to maintain moderate humidity in film shelters. To do this, the greenhouse is ventilated.
2. Altai melons are fed with mineral or organic fertilizers 1 time in 10 days. Moreover, in the first half of the growing season, nitrogen-containing mixtures (urea, solutions of chicken, mullein) are introduced, and in the second - potassium-phosphorus.It is impossible to overfeed a melon with nitrogen, since the substance stimulates the development of greenery, not fruits.
3. In order to stimulate the development of lateral shoots, the central conductor is pinched after the 5th leaf. To increase the size of the fruit, only 5 ovaries are left on the bush.
4. Loosening is carried out after watering and rains, gradually reducing the depth of prying of the soil layer. So, the soil in the garden with young plants is loosened to a depth of 15, with adults - 10 cm.

Birds are very fond of sweet fruits, so in order to protect melons from damage, repellers are installed in the garden. Experienced gardeners cover the soil in the garden with melons with straw or planks. Thanks to this manipulation, the berries do not come into contact with the ground and rot less.

Disease and pest control

Among viral and fungal diseases, plants of the Altai variety are most susceptible to fusarium, powdery mildew, copperhead. You can identify this or that by the formation of spots on the leaves:

• To prevent the development of pathogenic microflora, planting material is treated with fungicides, crop rotation rules are followed.
• You can stop the spread of the disease to he althy plants by cutting off infected leaves and pulling out plants. Organic residues are carried away from plantations and burned.

Aphids, spider mites and thrips are controlled with biological or chemical insecticides.

Opinion of gardeners

Reviews about the Altai melon variety are contradictory. Some gardeners admire not the capriciousness and resistance of the crop to cold weather, but the second - they do not like the taste of berries, which are less sweet than many varieties and have a pumpkin flavor.

If you have grown Altai melon, please leave feedback so that gardeners are confident in their choice. Thank you.

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