Water Melon

Watermelon (Scientific name: Citrullus lanatus) is an important cucurbitaceous vegetable. It is know as tarbuj, tarmuj, kalinda and kalindi in different parts of India. Though it can be grown in garden land, it is a major river-bed crop of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. As a common summer season crop, it is grown from the lower Himalayan region to southern parts of India, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan being major watermelon growing states. This is an excellent dessert fruit.

The fruit juice makes an excellent refreshing and cooling beverage after adding a pinch of salt and black pepper. The fruits contain 92% water, 0.2% protein, 0.3% minerals 7.0% carbohydrates in a 100g edible flesh.

The species is an annual that has a prostrate or climbing habit. Stems are up to 3 metres long and new growth has yellow or brown hairs. Leaves are 60 to 200 mm long and 40 to 150 mm wide. These usually have 3 lobes which are themselves lobed or doubly lobed. Plants have both male and female flowers on 40 mm long hairy stalks. These are yellow, and greenish on the back