Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai, 1916), also called watermelon, is a species of herbaceous plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, native to West Africa, widely cultivated for its large smooth fruit, with red, yellow, greenish or white flesh and black or red seeds. The term also refers to this fruit. The fruit generally weighs, at maturity, between 2 and 5 kg.
A distinction must be made between raw consumable watermelon and jam or "citrus" watermelon which must be cooked. The latter is also commonly known as "marrow squash" or "barbarine squash" in the south of France and "melons of Muscovy" in Charentes.
It is called anguria or cocomero in Italian, sandía in Spanish, melancia in Portuguese, بطّيخ (battikh) in Arabic (in the Maghreb دلّاع, dallaâ, hence tadellaât in Kabyle), арбуз (arbouz) in Russian, καρπούζι (karpouzi) in Modern Greek, Karpuz in Turkish, Tarbuz in Hindi, هندوانه (handevaneh) in Persian, or Suika (ス イ カ?) in Japanese. English and German have no specific word and literally translate "watermelon": respectively: watermelon and Wassermelone.
In Reunion (French department in the Indian Ocean), watermelon was called "melon". This name comes from the fact that this fruit was introduced for the first time on the island by English navigators in the middle of the 19th century. Watermelon calling itself watermelon in English, the islanders, not yet knowing the melon at the time (cucumis melo), quite naturally designated the watermelon by the term "melon". Subsequently, at the beginning of the 20th century, when the metropolitan people introduced them to the melon, the name "melon de France" was adopted. Even if today this difference in language is generally corrected, it is still possible to hear it in the words of old Reunionese.
Similarly, the watermelons with jam are called: "Muscovy melons" or "water melons" in Charentes. The "Spanish melons" in Bordeaux and in Périgord designate the yellow melon, or cantaloupe.
Watermelons are tropical or subtropical plants and need temperatures above 25 ° C (77 ° F) to thrive. On a garden scale, seeds are usually sown in a hot pot and transplanted into well-drained sandy soil with a pH between 5.5 and 7 and average nitrogen levels.
The main pests of watermelon are aphids, fruit flies and gall nematodes. In conditions of high humidity, plants are prone to plant diseases such as powdery mildew and the mosaic virus. This is why, in Africa, they are sown at the end of the rainy season (September or October).
Grafting these varieties onto disease-resistant rootstocks provides protection.
Nutrition
Composed of 90.9% water on average, with moisturizing properties, watermelon is low in fat and does not contain cholesterol. It contains many elements interesting from a nutritional point of view, like citrulline, which is used to synthesize another capital amino acid, arginine, this one playing a key role in cell division, scarring and elimination of ammonia.
Watermelon is especially famous for being rich in antioxidants. It also contains some vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B6 and vitamin A).
Maturity
Weight is an indication of maturity, so it must be heavy. It should sound hollow when you hit it lightly. On the plant, it must be picked as soon as the tendril opposite its peduncle is completely dry: this is a sign of its maturity.