Description and characteristics of melon crossed with pineapple: what does the mini fruit taste like

Melon crossed with pineapple is one of the most unusual varieties of fruit crops that can be grown in our country. It looks like a regular melon, but has a tropical pineapple flavor that will surprise even the most experienced gardener.

Despite its tropical flavor, pineapple melon is a relatively unpretentious crop. It is resistant to many diseases and is not afraid of sudden changes in temperature.

Description and characteristics of pineapple melon

Pineapple melon is a cross between two plants... Dutch breeders brought it out at the end of the 20th century. Since then, several hybrids and varieties of this crop have been created, which have gained popularity with farmers around the world.

Pineapple melon outwardly does not differ from other representatives of this melon culture. Its main feature is the pineapple flavor. Depending on the variety, it has a different degree of expression.

All pineapple melon hybrids are resistant to fungal diseases of melons. The plant is fruitful: one bush gives up to 10 fruits. However, if you do not reduce their number, the fruits will turn out to be small.

Melon Pineapple f1

Cold hardiness, fruit size and ripening times of plants differ in different varieties of pineapple melon. Some of them are capable of growing outdoors in temperate and warm climates, while others are only grown in greenhouses.

Pineapple melon varieties

Since the creation of the first pineapple melon, breeders have managed to breed several varieties and hybrids of this crop.

Melon Pineapple f1

Medium ripening hybrid... From sowing seeds to harvesting, it takes about 100 days. Differs in a friendly return of the harvest. The shape of the fruit is oval.

The mass of each pumpkin (the so-called melon fruit) varies between 1.5-2.5 kg. It has a thin yellow-green rind with a pronounced mesh pattern, creamy juicy pulp and rich sweet taste.

Melon-pineapple Americano

Melon-pineapple Americano

Early ripe mini melon. Differs in an unusual appearance of the fruit. They have a bright yellow crust with large reddish-brown streaks. Fruits are miniature, their weight reaches 400 g. The pulp is white, creamy, juicy and slightly watery. The aroma of pineapple is rich, the taste is sweet.

American pineapple

American pineapple

Mid-season hybrid. Differs in increased cold resistance. The skin is thin, it is green and beige, always has a pronounced mesh pattern. The flesh is creamy towards the center and green at the edges.

Pineapple Gold

Mid-season melon... Has a greenish bumpy skin. The aroma of the melon is rich, the taste is sweet. The fruits are round, weighing up to 2.5 kg. The pulp is firm, with an orange or red tint.

Note! The types of melons described have a thin crust. This complicates their transportation.

Chemical composition

Pineapple Gold

Pineapple melon contains a lot of nutrients:

• vitamins A, B, C;
• iron, zinc, fluorine, sodium, potassium, calcium, chlorine, magnesium, phosphorus, iodine, copper;
• amino acids;
• fiber.

Pineapple melon is suitable for diet food. There are only 39 kcal per 100 g of the product. The same amount of pulp contains 7.4 g of carbohydrates, 0.6 g of protein and 0.3 g of fat.

Useful properties for the body and possible harm

Melon has a number useful properties:

• strengthens the nervous system;
• activates the immune system;
• helps to fall asleep with insomnia;
• improves the condition of nails, hair and skin;
• increases the level of hemoglobin and stimulates blood formation;
• promotes weight loss;
• cleanses the body of toxins, toxins and harmful cholesterol;
• has a diuretic effect;
• restores intestinal microflora.

If consumed with alcohol, dairy products, or on an empty stomach, it will lead to problems with the digestive system.

Contraindications:

• ulcers of the stomach and intestines;
• diabetes;
• period of breastfeeding;
• gastritis;
• infectious processes in the gastrointestinal tract.

Growing features

The cultivation of pineapple melon is not very different from the cultivation of other varieties of melons. This is a light-loving plant that is demanding on temperature indicators and soil composition.

In regions with a southern climate, seed and seedling cultivation is possible. In the central regions, only seedlings are planted in the ground. In colder cities, melon is cultivated in greenhouses.

Seedling preparation

Seedlings begin to grow in late March or late April, depending on the region. Plants will be ready for planting a month after the first shoots appear.

Important! The colder the climate, the later the seedlings are planted.

Before sowing the planting material, it is prepared. This allows you to accelerate the process of seed germination and increase their resistance to diseases and negative environmental factors:

1. Warming up. 2 weeks before sowing, seeds are placed near the battery directly in the package.
2. Calibration. The seeds are sorted out, leaving only specimens with a uniform color without traces of disease and damage.
3. Disinfection. The selected planting material is soaked for half an hour in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate or for a quarter of an hour in hydrogen peroxide.
4. Growth stimulation... The seeds are soaked in a growth stimulator - "Epin", "Solution". The duration of the soak depends on the product used. All instructions are described in the instructions.
5. Germination. The seeds are wrapped in damp gauze, placed in a deep container and placed in a warm place. The fabric is moistened daily with a spray bottle with warm water. This is done until the seeds open.

The melon does not tolerate a pick. Therefore, experienced gardeners sow seeds immediately into individual containers with a height of at least 15 cm. Before use, containers are soaked for half an hour in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.

The soil for seedlings should be loose and nutritious. It is bought in specialized stores or prepared independently, mixing peat with garden soil in equal proportions. A glass of ash and 2 kg of sand are added to the bucket of the mixture.

Both purchased and homemade soil mixture are disinfected by calcining in the oven or pouring a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate. For growing seedlings, drainage is used (chopped ceramics, fine gravel, shell rock), which is disinfected, like the soil.

Each seed is planted in a separate container, deepening by 3 cm. After planting, the soil is moistened with warm water from a spray bottle. Containers with seeds are placed in a warm place and covered with foil. This will create a greenhouse effect necessary for the germination of planting material.

Seedling care:

1. The greenhouse effect. Before the seeds germinate, the film is opened daily for half an hour for airing. After emergence, it is harvested.
2. Lighting. It is important for pineapple melon seedlings to provide enough light. To do this, they put it on the window sills of windows that face the south side. If natural light is not enough, then fluorescent lamps are additionally used. To prevent the seedlings from pulling out, they are regularly turned in relation to the window.
3. Watering. The soil is moistened as it dries with warm water from a spray bottle.
4. Fertilizers. For the entire period of growing seedlings, it is fed 2 times. The first one - 2 weeks after germination (use an ash solution - take 1 glass of the product for 5 liters), the second - 5 days before diving into the open ground (use potassium-phosphorus fertilizers).
5. Hardening. 2 weeks before diving into open ground, the seedlings begin to harden. To do this, they take it out into the street, gradually increasing the time of stay - from 15 minutes to 12 hours.

Soil preparation

For the melon, choose a well-lit place in which the groundwater does not adjoin close to the surface. Other melon crops - pumpkin, melon, watermelon, cucumbers, squash should not grow in this area for the past two years. Suitable precursors for the pineapple hybrid: nightshade, cruciferous, legumes, cereals.

Soil preparation begins in the fall. It is dug up and cleaned of plant debris. For each 1 m², 6 kg of humus or manure and 1 glass of ash or dry lime are applied.

Council. Some gardeners remove the roots and seeds from the weeds collected in the fall from the beds and bury them in the ground.

In the spring, the soil is dug up and cleaned of the emerging weeds. For each 1 m² add 15 g of urea and 30 g of superphosphate. Then the beds are leveled with a rake and disinfected, pouring them with a hot solution of copper sulfate (2 tbsp. L. Per 10 l of water).

Landing rules and scheme

In open ground, seedlings are planted in early or late May. By this time, the soil should warm up to a temperature of 15 ° C at a depth of 15 cm.

When planting melons, the scheme of 80x100 cm is observed. A handful of ash is poured into the bottom of each hole. Seedlings are planted there without deepening the root collar.

The depressions are covered with soil, which is compacted a little in a circle. Then the soil is watered with warm water. The next watering is possible not earlier than in a week.

The first two weeks, the seedlings are covered with foil overnight. This will protect her from night frost.

Basic rules of care

To get a rich harvest and protect your plants, you need to properly care for them. Particular attention is paid to watering, feeding and shaping.

Melon is sensitive to droughts. A special irrigation schedule is used for her:

1. Pineapple melon needs particularly frequent watering in the early stages of development. At this time, 0.5 liters of water is poured under each bush every 2 days. As the plants grow, the volume is brought to 3 liters.
2. During flowering and ripening, the frequency of watering is reduced. The soil is moistened every 4-5 days.
3. Watering is stopped a week before harvesting. This will make the melons more sweet.

After each watering, the soil is loosened.

During the season, the plants are fed 3 times according to the scheme:

1. The first feeding is applied 2 weeks after picking the seedlings into open ground. To do this, use a solution of ammonium nitrate prepared from 20 g of the product and 10 liters of water.
2. The second time, fertilizers are applied during the active formation of buds. Use mullein diluted with water 1:10.
3. For the third time, fertilizers are applied 2-3 weeks after the previous feeding. To do this, add 30 g of ammonium sulfate, 50 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potassium salt to 10 liters of water. 1 liter of funds is spent on one plant.

The day before fertilizing, the plants are watered abundantly. This will prevent root burns.

Correct formation will ensure good yields and large fruits. The pumpkins are formed on the third order hinges.

The first pinching is done by removing part of the main shoot after the fifth leaf. From the axils of the remaining leaves, loops of the second order are formed, which are pinched after the fifth leaf. The lower shoot is removed.

Ovaries are formed on the lashes of the third order. When future fruits reach 5 cm, the weak loops are removed, leaving 5-6 of the strongest.

Advice! To get large fruits, no more than one ovary is left on one shoot.

In the process of growing culture, the beds are periodically weeded. Experienced gardeners advise mulching the soil to protect the roots from the cold and slow down the growth of weeds.

Attention! Water and stepchildren early in the morning, in the evening, or on a cloudy, but not rainy day. On the day of pinching, the plants are not watered.

Protection against diseases and pests

All varieties of pineapple melons are resistant to late blight, fusarium blight, powdery mildew, downy mildew and other fungal diseases. There is a possibility that it will be affected by the tobacco mosaic virus, which cannot be treated. To prevent this from happening, it is important to follow the rules of prevention:

• compliance with crop rotation;
• disinfection of soil, garden tools, containers for seedlings and planting material;
• pest control;
• compliance with the rules of watering and pinching.

Melon is often hit pests. They not only feed on plants, but also carry viral infections:

1. Aphid. Small flies that feed on plant sap, causing them to wilt.
2. Wireworm. Lays larvae that feed on fruits.
3. Spider mite... A small pest, when damaged, the plant is covered with a thin web and dies.
4. Melon fly... Lays eggs inside pumpkins, causing them to rot.

When plants are damaged by pests, plantings are sprayed with soapy water (1 bar of soap for 1 bucket of water), a decoction of wormwood or dandelion, and an ash solution (2 glasses of ash for 1 bucket of water).

I plant aromatic herbs near the pumpkin beds - basil, marigolds, tobacco.

Harvesting

Signs of a ripening crop:

• mesh pattern on the crust;
• fruits are easily separated from the bush;
• leaves turn yellow;
• pronounced aroma emanating from the fruit.

Melons, along with the stalk, are removed in the morning or at sunset. They are left in the garden for 3 days, turning over every 5 hours.

Store the crop in a cool dry place. There he will lie for up to a month.

Reviews of pineapple melon

Gardeners confirm that pineapple melons are easy to grow, have an unusual taste and aroma.

Irina, Belgorod: «I planted pineapple melon on the recommendation of a neighbor and did not regret it. Growing a hybrid is no more difficult than the most common melon. The fruits are tasty, with an unusual aroma. I grew the usual Pineapple, next year I want to try Americano, the mini-fruits in the photo look very interesting. "

Victoria, Krasnodar: “I have been growing Pineapple melon for several years. I like its juicy and sweet fruits. Indeed, there is a pineapple flavor. I do not use chemicals. I use silage, ash and mullein as top dressing. "

Igor, Kursk: “Pineapple melons are my love. Already at the beginning of August I taste the first sweet fruits. The aroma is rich and the taste is sweet. We eat not only raw, but also use it to make jams and candied fruits. "

Conclusion

Pineapple melon is a great alternative to exotic fruits that is easy to grow in your area. It not only has an amazing sweet taste and aroma, but also many beneficial properties.

Growing melon crossed with pineapple is a simple process. The plant is resistant to temperature extremes and fungal diseases. The main thing is to follow the rules of formation, feeding and watering.