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Until recently, many residents of Russia 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 are appearing 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 ripening 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 similar hybrids, the Karistan f1 watermelon is very popular due to a whole range of characteristics that are attractive to both buyers and sellers.
Description of the hybrid
The hybrid watermelon variety Karistan was bred by breeders of the Dutch company Syngenta Seeds B.V. at the very beginning of the 21st century.In our country it has become known since 2007, and in 2012 it was already included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of Russia. For the Karistan hybrid, two main tolerance regions have been identified - Lower Volga and Ural. Thus, experts have admitted that it is possible to grow Karistan watermelon in open ground in the Chelyabinsk and even Kurgan regions.
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 pre-treatment with the fungicide Tiram.
The hybrid is one of the earliest ripening watermelons. The first harvest of ripened fruits can be done 62-75 days after the appearance of full shoots. Thanks to such early ripening characteristics, Karistan watermelon can be grown at the earliest possible time, using a variety of covering materials. Or you can sow the seeds directly into 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.
Karistan watermelon plants have great growth vigor and high productivity potential. The main lash is of medium length. The medium-sized leaves are slightly dissected and vary in shades of green.
Hybrid Karistan is characterized by good fruit set even under the most unfavorable weather conditions.The resistance of the Karistan watermelon to the main pathogens is at a good level - we are talking mainly about Fusarium wilt and anthracnose. This hybrid is also particularly resistant to sunburn.
When growing Karistan watermelon on rainfed land (land without irrigation), the yield ranges from 150 to 250 c/ha. The first two harvests already make it possible to obtain from 55 to 250 centners of fruit 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 to 700 c/ha. Moreover, we are talking specifically about marketable watermelons, which retain a decent appearance suitable for sale.
Characteristics of watermelons
The fruits of the Karistan hybrid belong to one of the most common types of watermelon, named after the variety, Crimson Sweet. 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; against this background, lighter stripes shimmer, sometimes diverging, sometimes narrowing.
- The bark is thin, sometimes becoming medium.
- The flesh of watermelons is bright red, sometimes turning dark red, very juicy, crispy with a dense structure.
- Taste qualities are rated good and excellent.
- The fruits of the Karistan hybrid contain from 7.5 to 8.7% dry matter and from 6.4 to 7.7% of various sugars.
- The seeds are small and black.
- The preservation is good; watermelons are able to retain their commercial qualities for two weeks after harvest.
- The fruits of the Karistan hybrid tolerate even long-term transportation well.
Features of cultivation
For residents of most regions of Russia, the most important thing for successfully growing watermelons is to meet the deadline when there is enough heat and sunlight for the watermelon berries to fully ripen. To speed up these processes use:
- Intensive care technologies, which involve the additional use of growth stimulants and a variety of fertilizers, both mineral and organic.
- Covering watermelons during the entire growth or only in the first phase of development with protective materials: agrofibre or various types of film.
For an accelerated start, they also use the seedling growing method, without which it is almost impossible to grow full-fledged watermelons of this hybrid in the conditions of the middle zone.
Growing seedlings begins with heating Karistan watermelon seeds in water with the addition of stimulants at a temperature of +50°+55°C. You can wait for small sprouts to appear, or you can germinate the seeds immediately, placing 2-3 of them in separate containers filled with light soil. The soil for watermelon seedlings should contain up to 50% sand with the addition of peat and turf soil.
Seeds are germinated at elevated temperatures, about +30°C. To create an additional greenhouse effect, it is advisable to cover each container with glass or a piece of film.
After the seedlings emerge, the seedlings are taken to the most illuminated place. The temperature may be cooler, but not below +20°C. It is advisable to gradually bring it to +15°+16°C. Already a month after the emergence of shoots, young Kristan watermelon plants 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 as the seedlings outgrow, it will become more and more difficult to replant them. The optimal age of seedlings for transplantation is 20-25 days and 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 preferably even more.
Sowing Karistan watermelon seeds directly into the ground is preferable, since the plants develop much faster and appear more resistant to all sorts of adverse factors. But, unfortunately, without shelters this is only possible 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 may vary from the beginning to mid-May. The sowing bed is first spilled with boiling water. In this case, the Karistan watermelon will have time to develop and bear ripe fruits by the end of July - August.
Reviews from gardeners
Karistan watermelon 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 can interest many enthusiastic gardeners with its early ripening, unpretentiousness and at the same time high taste. This hybrid is able to produce a harvest even in difficult conditions.
