Sweet, Cool and Healthy

Watermelon is a delicious fruit, which can easily taste more delicious in the scorching Indian summers.

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The plant which does bear the fruit is also named the same. Hot climate is conducive to the growth of watermelon fruit. The plant and the fruit are cultivated around the globe.

The weight of a watermelon fruit may vary from 1 to 20 kg.

It is mostly round in shape, but in Japan you can find square watermelons also.

The fruit has a rich legacy to match its rich red interiors. However, besides deep red, the flesh of watermelon can also come in pink, yellow or white, though deep red and pink are the usual colours for juicy watermelon flesh, which are dotted with black seeds. Watermelon fruits mostly come with a dark green outer skin.

History

How watermelons rolled into India is wrapped in enigma. But there is evidence that watermelons were being cultivated in India during the seventh century, and by the 10th century, this fruit had spread its sweetness to China. The fruit was introduced in Spain by the Moors and there is evidence of watermelon being cultivated in Cordova in Spain, during the 10th century.

The fruit attracted wide cultivation in Europe during the 17th century.

Seedless watermelons, which were initially developed in 1939 by Japanese scientists, have become quite popular in the present century.

Production and Cultivation