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Watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris Schräder; Family Cucurbitaceae) is the fruit and plant of a vine-like (climber and trailer) herb originally from southern Africa. David Livingstone, the African explorer, described watermelon as abundant in the Kalahari Desert and the species descriptor, vulgaris, means "common" (Shosteck, 1974). This flowering plant bears an accessory fruit of a type that botanists call a false berry. The watermelon fruit, loosely considered a type of melon (although not in the Genus Cucumis), has a smooth exterior rind and a moist, sweet, usually red interior flesh.
1 Agricultural aspects
Until the 1940sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Years: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 Events and trends Technology First nuclear bomb First cruise missile, the, the watermelon was rarely found in a grocery. Melon lovers had to grow their own, which tended not to keep for long. Then a USDADepartment of Agriculture also called the Agriculture Department or USDA is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. Its purpose is to develop and execute policy on farming, agriculture, and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers plant breeder set out to produce a better watermelon. The result was "that gray melon from Charleston," formally called the Charleston Gray. Its oblong shape and hard rind made it easy to stack and ship. Its adaptability meant it could be grown over a wide geographical area. It produced high yields and was resistant to the most serious watermelon diseases: anthracnose and fusarium wilt. Best of all, it tasted terrific. Today, almost all commercial watermelon varieties have some Charleston Gray in their lineage.
This now common watermelon is large enough that groceries often sell half or quarter melons. There are also some smaller, spherical varieties of watermelon, both red- and yellow-fleshed. So-called "seedless" watermelons have far fewer, and softer, seeds than average, but generally contain at least a few pale seeds.
Compared with most fruits, the watermelon has a very high water content, and can be used to satisfy thirst. Watermelons seeds are roasted by AsiaThe continent of Asia is defined by subtracting Europe and Africa from the great land mass of Africa-Eurasia. The boundaries are vague, especially between Asia and Europe: Asia and Africa meet somewhere near the Suez Canal. The boundary between Asia and Ens. PicklingPickling is the process of preparing a food by soaking and storing it in a brine (salt) or vinegar solution, a process which can preserve otherwise perishable foods for months. If the food contains sufficient moisture a pickling brine may be produced simp watermelons is widespread in Russia, and pickled watermelon rind is also popular in the West.
For commercial plantings, one bee hive per acre (4,000 m² per hive) is the minimum recommendation by the US Department of Agriculture for pollinationPollination is an important step in the reproduction of seed plants: the transfer of pollen grains (male gametes) to the plant carpel, the structure that contains the ovule (female gamete). The receptive part of the carpel is called a stigma in the flower of conventional seeded varieties. Seedless hybrids have sterile pollen and pollinizer rows of varieties with viable pollen must also be planted, and the pollinator density increased to three hives per acre (1,300 m² per hive).
