Watermelon season is gaining momentum in Dagestan

Our republic has favorable natural and climatic conditions for the cultivation of gourds. In particular, in the past 2021, 193 thousand tons of gourds were harvested on Dagestan fields. Millions of sweet melons and fragrant watermelons grown by melon growers find consumers both in the Dagestan markets and in other regions of the country.
This year, more than 8.6 thousand hectares of arable land have been allocated in Dagestan for the cultivation of gourds, about 60% of which are in the Nogai, Kizlyar and Babayurt regions. Traditionally, the month of August is considered the watermelon season, at this time the mass harvest begins.
At the same time, in recent years, many Dagestan melon growers have learned to get early harvests of watermelon, planting is carried out in March-April, using covering technology. Thus, producers expect to catch the benefit of the first prices for an early harvest. Striped berries of our own production on the shelves of Dagestan stores began to fall from the end of June - the beginning of July.
In the diversified economy LLC "Areshevka" of the Kizlyarsky district, this year they also decided to allocate part of the arable land for the cultivation of watermelons. Equipped with drip irrigation, 50 hectares are occupied by the Karistan variety, which, according to melon growers, accounts for up to 90% of Dagestan watermelon fields. This preference is due to a number of advantages of this variety. These are early ripening, good taste, long shelf life and transportability.
Melon growers dispute doubts about the suitability for consumption of early watermelons and their supersaturation with nitrates. In their opinion, regardless of the ripening period, in order to get a good harvest, mineral fertilizers should be applied to the soil in the required amount and plantations should be treated with plant protection products against diseases and pests. The main thing is to comply with the recommended agronomic norms for their use, and then good-quality berries are obtained.
Producers of watermelons note that the current year in terms of harvest turned out to be favorable.