The project “Why is the watermelon striped. Research project "Useful berry - watermelon
Common watermelon (edible watermelon)
Citrullus vulgaris Schrad.
Watermelon has traveled a lot the globe. His homeland is Africa. It grows wild in the Namib Desert, in the Kalahari semi-desert, in Sudan. It was first introduced into culture, most likely in ancient Egypt. Seeds and the image of a watermelon, archaeologists found in the tombs of the pharaohs. From Egypt, already cultivated watermelon settled in the countries of Asia Minor and Central Asia. In the X century. appeared in China, later brought to Western Europe by crusader knights. The culture of watermelon in Russia has become known since the time of the Tatar-Mongol invasion.
Watermelon is an annual plant with a flexible, rigidly pubescent creeping rounded pentagonal stem. It is a liana up to 4 m long with two-part antennae. The leaves are alternate, triangular-ovate in outline, heart-shaped at the base, deeply dissected, stiffly finely hairy. Flowers dioecious, yellow, 2-2.5 cm in diameter. Staminate flowers solitary, axillary, on hairy stalks, corolla broadly funnel-shaped, sepals narrow-lanceolate, stamens 5. Perianth of pistillate flowers somewhat larger than stamens, pubescent ovary. The fruit (watermelon) is berry-like, juicy (reaches 15-20 kg), very diverse in size, shape and color of the peel. Seeds are flat, often bordered. Blooms in June. Usually 4-6 fruits ripen on one plant. The main areas of cultivation of watermelons are the Volga region, the south of Ukraine, Moldova, Crimea, the southern part of Kazakhstan, middle Asia, Transcaucasia.
Watermelon fruits (in pulp) contain 5.5-10.6% sugars, pectin substances (about 1%), proteins (about 1%), vitamins B1, B2, PP, folic acid, carotene, ascorbic acid, as well as easily digestible organic compounds.
Watermelon seeds contain up to 25% oil, according to physical and chemical properties similar to almond.
In the south, nardek is prepared from watermelon ( watermelon honey), evaporating the juice to the density of honey. Nardek contains up to 20% sucrose and up to 40% other sugars.
The use of watermelon in medicine is due great content water, alkaline substances, iron, relatively low calorie with a large mass and diuretic properties. Watermelon is used in fresh(up to 2-2.5 kg per day) with nephrolithiasis, cystitis, nephritis and pyelonephritis. Watermelon does not irritate the kidneys and urinary tract, the diuretic effect is physiological.
A significant volume of watermelon pulp, which simulates the saturation of the body, is combined with a relatively low calorie content. pectin substances And a small amount of fiber in watermelon pulp contribute to the optimization of intestinal microflora.
Possibility of use large quantities watermelon pulp, containing easily digestible organic iron compounds, determines the use of watermelon for various kinds of anemia, pregnancy, lactation, and conditions associated with iron deficiency. You need to eat 1 kg of pulp to get 1 g of iron.
In folk medicine, watermelon seeds ground in a mortar are used as an antihelminthic, which is confirmed by experimental studies.
In addition, dry and fresh watermelon rinds are used as a diuretic in the form of a decoction (1:10) half a glass 3-4 times a day. The diuretic properties of such a decoction are also confirmed experimentally.
Bibliography
For the preparation of this work, materials from the site http://www.uroweb.ru/
Grown in abundance around the world, the Latin name is Citrullus lanatus. This large plant, forming lashes up to 3 meters long, belongs to the gourd family. The closest wild-growing related species are still found in southern Africa, and the history of watermelons as a cultivated plant dates back more than one thousand years.
Features common to all varieties of watermelons are the presence of long powerful lashes covered with pubescent pinnately lobed leaves with a noticeable bluish tint. To fix on horizontal and vertical surfaces, watermelons use tendrils that coarsen and dry out during the development of the plant.
Pale yellow single flowers are located in the axils of the leaves. When pollination occurs, a large fruit is formed in place of the flower. It is because of this false berry with a hard surface layer and a juicy core that watermelon is grown. In the early stages of development, fruits, like stems and foliage, are covered with stiff hairs that disappear as they grow and are considered one of the signs of watermelon ripeness.
And ripe round and oblong, with a diameter of up to 60 cm, watermelons have:
- smooth, tough rind, usually dark green or striped, but white, yellow, marbled, and mottled rinds are also found;
- juicy, sweet flesh of pink, dark red, orange, yellow or white hue with numerous brown or dark brown seeds.
Watermelons are thermophilic and grow comfortably only at a temperature not lower than 20–25 °C.
At the same time, selection work has been carried out for many decades to obtain varieties that are both drought-resistant and have good disease resistance, as well as early dates maturation.
Therefore, the northern borders of cultivation have seriously shifted over the past hundred years. More and more people know about watermelons not only by hearsay, but also regularly enjoy sweet berries. And on the beds appeared fruits that ripen already 65-75 days after the appearance of the first sprouts.
Origin and history of watermelons
According to archaeologists and paleobotanists, the cultural variety of watermelons has common roots with small wild-growing representatives of the genus Citrullus, still found in abundance in the desert regions of South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia, Namibia and Botswana. It was in these countries that the largest number genetic forms of watermelons, producing fruits with bitter, bland and slightly sweet pulp.
IN ancient times the wild ancestors of modern watermelons were practically the only source moisture for animals, and for local tribes, and for travelers in the desert.
It was then that the history of watermelon as a food culture began. If bitter, with high content glycosides of the plant were ignored, then more edible varieties came to northern Africa 4 thousand years ago and interested the peoples who inhabited the Nile Valley. From here, the culture, as the story of the watermelon goes, spread to the Mediterranean, to the Middle East and beyond, all the way to India and China.
The British Encyclopedia tells about the cultivation of watermelons in Egypt during the early kingdom. It also mentions the presence of frescoes, which tell about the collection of these recognizable fruits on the banks of the Nile.
Seeds of watermelon or its distant ancestor were found in the tombs of the pharaohs of the XII dynasty.
There is written evidence of the cultivation of a variety of wild-growing watermelon in India in the 7th century AD. Even today, small fruits of Citrullus lanatus variety fistulosus in India are used as a vegetable crop.
In the 10th century, watermelons came to China, a country that today is the main supplier of this type of melon to the world market. And on the territory of Europe, or rather on the Iberian Peninsula, watermelons came with Moorish warriors.
In the X-XII centuries, the plant is cultivated in Cordoba and Seville, from where, according to medieval history, watermelons get to other parts of the continent. But due to climatic restrictions, it was not possible to obtain stable crops anywhere except the south of Europe, and watermelons were used as exotic plants in gardens and greenhouses.
Interestingly, the melon culture very quickly acclimatized on the shores of the New World, where watermelons got in two ways at once: with European colonists and slaves brought from the African continent.
It is authentically known that the history of watermelons in America began in 1576. In this distant summer, watermelons planted by Spanish settlers were already bearing fruit in Florida.
A little later, melon plantations appeared in South America. Watermelons were enjoyed by the Indian tribes of the Mississippi Valley, as well as the local population of the Pacific Islands, including Hawaii.
On the territory of Russia, watermelons were apparently imported along the Great Silk Road, but due to the complexity of the climate, until the middle of the last century, the culture was distributed only in the southern regions, for example, in Little Russia, the Kuban and the steppe regions of the Volga region. Everything will not work out about the history of watermelons, so much time the plant lives in the neighborhood with a person. Today, even the roots of a cultivated species grown in many regions of Russia in summer cottages are not known for certain.
But this does not prevent people from working on improving the plant and obtaining new varieties. At the moment, there are several hundred varieties and hybrids of cultivated watermelons in the world. Thanks to this and the development of greenhouse technologies, it has become possible to grow sweet fruits even where people had not heard of a giant berry before.
At the same time, breeders are no longer limited to breeding new varieties with traditionally green bark and scarlet flesh.
Watermelons ripen in the beds, in which, under a white, black, spotted or yellow peel, not only red or pink, but also white and yellow flesh is hidden.
And for the most sophisticated gourmets, farmers in the Japanese province of Zentsuji, placing the ovary in a special case, have mastered the cultivation of first cubic, and now figured watermelons.
The chemical composition of watermelon
What makes people all over the world love watermelons so much? The most obvious answer is the sweet, refreshing taste. ripe fruits. But what is the full energy and chemical composition of watermelons, and what substances can have a beneficial effect on human health?
100 grams of fresh scarlet watermelon pulp contains:
- 0.61 grams of proteins;
- 0.15 grams of fat;
- 7.55 grams of carbohydrates, 6.2 grams of which are sugars;
- 0.4 grams of dietary fiber;
- 91.45 grams of water.
With this composition, the calorie content of watermelon does not exceed 30 kcal, but the benefits of eating fruits do not end there. In a 100-gram slice, there are a lot of vitamins, among which 10% daily allowance consumption ascorbic acid, as well as at least 4% necessary for a person quantities, vitamin B1, B2 and B3, B5 and B6, choline and essential micro and macro elements. These are calcium, magnesium and iron, potassium and phosphorus, manganese, sodium and zinc.
important place in chemical composition pulp is occupied by lycopene, which in 100 grams contains up to 4530 mcg. And in the bark of watermelon there is such a valuable amino acid as citrulline.
How long to store watermelon?
To maximize the benefits of watermelon, you need to eat ripe fruits grown in compliance with the rules of agricultural technology. Moreover, as they are stored, watermelons also lose some of their vitamins, moisture and sugar. And this means that the question of how long is of paramount importance. The answer to it depends on the variety and method of storage.
If the pulp of watermelon of the Ogonyok or Crimson suite loses its juiciness and becomes grainy a couple of weeks after being removed from the lash, then juicy fresh fruits Kholodok varieties, stored up to 5 months, can be a pleasant surprise on the New Year's table.
At room temperature away from heating appliances, sunlight and watermelon moisture is not stored for so long, up to a month. In a cool, ventilated basement or cellar, whole watermelons stay tasty on average for 2 to 4 months.
- If you want to keep the watermelon longer, you can freeze the pulp or juice.
- Watermelon slices are dried, getting a kind of chips. Dried juice is used to make natural chewing sweets.
- Also, watermelon is pickled, salted and fermented, their juice and pieces of fruit are made into jam, jam and fragrant candied fruit.
When using these methods, the shelf life of watermelon is extended to a year. But cut watermelon can not be stored for a long time. Even in the refrigerator, pathogenic flora develops on the sweet, moist pulp during the day, and bacteria leading to fermentation settle. In heat, this process begins in a couple of hours.
Signs of a ripe watermelon
To be able to recognize a ripe, ready-to-eat watermelon is important not only for the buyer at the counter, but also for the summer resident who has received a rich harvest. How long the watermelon is stored, and what useful material managed to accumulate in its pulp. Without cutting the fruit, ripeness can be determined by appearance watermelon and the whip on which it is located.
signs ripe watermelon some:
The norm of nitrates in watermelon
Like other plants, watermelons are able to accumulate not only useful substances, but also compounds that negatively affect human health. It is known that the rate of nitrates in watermelon can be seriously exceeded if, during the period of watermelon growth, the plant:
- experienced a lack of heat, which was expressed in a slowdown in the development process;
- received an excess amount of nitrogen fertilizers;
- was under the influence of pesticides, leading to the accumulation of harmful substances;
- suffered from a lack of moisture in the soil and air;
- experienced a deficiency in the soil of molybdenum, sulfur, cobalt or potassium;
- was in the ground hyperacidity or salt content.
Ultimately allowable rate nitrates in watermelon is 60 mg/kg. And here it is important to remember that the greatest amount of harmful substances is concentrated closer to the surface, and especially in the crust.
For an adult allowable amount nitrates that have entered the body is determined at the rate of 5 mg per kilogram of weight. The limit for nitrite is even lower and should not exceed 0.2 mg per kilogram of human body weight.
When the norm of nitrates in watermelon is exceeded, these substances in humans cause a violation of metabolic processes, and with regular ingestion excessive amounts these dangerous compounds may develop cancerous tumors, cyanosis, severe lesions nervous system and digestion, pathologies of the heart and blood vessels. Extremely negative nitrates and nitrites affect the development of the fetus during pregnancy.
In order to know everything about watermelon intended for food and to be sure of its safety, it is important to adhere to the rules of agricultural technology when growing and use express analysis tools.
How to choose a sweet and ripe watermelon - video
Sorted watermelon slices to size. Dimka coped quickly and with joy. folded puzzle - the word "watermelon". Dimka first missed the letter "R". He just made up the word the way he says it. But I saw that the picture does not add up and corrected my mistake.
They folded the slices - a circle, counting the number of bones. Half a circle Dimka folded in flight. And the second counted the bones, in a hurry and made mistakes. And I didn’t immediately understand how to put the slices in order to make a circle further. But still managed. Putting together a puzzle with numbers . The task was complicated by the fact that she laid the strips face down and Dima had to lay them out immediately, realizing where to put the next strip. At first I was a little embarrassed, but already from the third strip I folded it with joy.
Halves with geometric shapes put on the table for the first time. It turned out to be too easy option for Dima. Another time, she offered a more fun game and an extra opportunity to run around. She spread the halves around the room at the level of Dima's eyes. And others took out one at a time, asking what kind of figure it was, and Dima ran and looked for halves. He really liked this one! With ease and sorted watermelons into large, medium and small . Moreover, he read all these words himself. And then he played that they eat them.
watermelon maze passed with a bang! Wiring I decided to draw not with pencils or a pen, but with chalk. Easy and fun. Made from pebbles - he asked for both red and green pebbles. He put green pebbles on the crust, and red ones on the pulp. On the letter - alternated. That's the artistic taste of my boy. Remembered our circles , which she gave in class. The name is written on one side and the picture on the other. I also used it when playing . Dima had to read what is written on the circles and turn over only those where the watermelon is written. I coped very quickly, so I then suggested that others read and turn over.
Uppercase and lowercase cards posted for two days. Half one day, the other he asked to finish the next day. It was not difficult for him to select upper and lower case letters, but he also laid them out alphabetically - using a sign on the wall. Quantity cards hooked with clothespins, he chose what color. Have fun playing memory cards. Dimka is starting to remember better and turn them over correctly.
Since Dimka liked fairy tales on I decided to play with him a fairy tale about a watermelon. The author of the fairy tale is Ilya Butman. It's not big, but it's funny. It's called Watermelon and Kitten. Made figurines for flannelgraph. And signs with the words "melon" and "shop". Since the action of the fairy tale takes place in these places.
With ease Dima shows too much in the ranks, while he comments on why the drawing does not fit. Found a couple more Pictures of Kumon with melons and watermelon slices - Dimka happily cut them out. Difficult but interesting puzzles "watermelon slices". Perhaps also because Dimushka was already tired. But he put it all together patiently.
And with great joy Dima completed the creative task "Watermelon" from my
You can download my materials on the thematic lesson "Watermelon" here.
"Wonderful Watermelon"
Performed:
Shcherbinina Alexandra,
10 years old, 4th grade B grade,
MBOU "Gymnasium No. 2"
Volik Lyubov Mikhailovna,
primary school teacher
Astrakhan
2011/2012 academic year
Research work "Wonderful watermelon".
The work was done by a student of grade 4 B, MBOU "Gymnasium No. 2", Astrakhan
Shcherbinina Alexandra.
Head teacher of primary classes Volik L.M.
Introduction
Goal of the work:
Find out as much information as possible about watermelon
Find out: watermelon vegetable or fruit
What color can be the pulp of a watermelon
Study the literature on the subject
Find out where the watermelon comes from and how it got to Russia
Determine what medicinal properties possesses watermelon
Find out the effect of the properties of watermelon on the human body
Search for information in the boarding school, encyclopedias, books
Ask each other and adults
Watermelon is good for people
All watermelons are spherical
Red ripe watermelon pulp
I studied a lot of literature about watermelon and learned so many new things:
The birthplace of watermelon is South America, (where it is still found in the wild)
Already in ancient Egypt, people knew and cultivated this culture. Watermelon was often placed in the tombs of the pharaohs as a source of food in their afterlife.
Watermelons were brought to Western Europe during the era of the Crusades.
In ancient Egypt, watermelon as a cultivated plant was known 4000 years ago. However, then it was not grown at all because of the juicy and sweet pulp, and to obtain from its seeds is very valuable oil. According to Egyptian myths, the watermelon was "sowed" by the god of the desert and thunderstorms, Seth, who personified the evil inclination.
Watermelons were brought to Russia by the Tatars in the 13th-14th centuries and were originally cultivated on the Lower Volga. The trade route from Persia went through the capital of the Khazars - Itil, i.e. Astrakhan. Here the watermelon settled in the twelfth century. But the history of Russian watermelon has been counted since 1560, when Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered that Astrakhan watermelons be delivered to the royal court. Tsar Peter, being in the Caspian, was so delighted with watermelons that he ordered a salute to be given in their honor and a coin to be knocked out. He wanted to grow them near Moscow. hired the best workers, they brought “watermelon craftsmen” from the Volga, the local seeds, even the local soil - all to no avail. Only in the 1860s, Efim Grachev developed northern varieties of watermelons and melons - and things started to go well.
Do you think watermelon is a berry or a vegetable?
What color is the flesh of a watermelon?
What shape are watermelons?
What are the benefits of watermelon? Where can it be used?
After studying the literature, consulting with friends and adults, I discovered interesting facts:
The world record for the weight of watermelons is approximately 119 kilograms. Such a mass was reached by a watermelon of the Carolina Cross variety.
A farmer from Russia, Igor Likhosenko, in 2009 grew a watermelon of the Russian Size variety weighing 61.4 kilograms. It is the largest watermelon grown in Europe
In some high mountain areas, such as California's Sierra Nevada, you can see watermelon snow in summer. He Pink colour and has the smell and taste of watermelon. This phenomenon is due to the presence of Chlamydomonas nivalis algae in the snow,
In Japan, craftsmen have grown cubic miracle watermelons. They take up less space when transporting.
I also learned that watermelon can not only be eaten, but you can create from it. Carving - artistic carving on a watermelon.
August 27 is considered Watermelon Day. I visited this holiday and presented my photos confirming how interesting it was there.
We asked our school doctor about the health benefits of watermelon.
And here's what we found out:
watermelon science
Do not buy watermelons that are sold before August. They are most likely pumped up with nitrates - nitrogen fertilizers and growth stimulants
Don't buy watermelons off the road! Just watermelon peel absorbs very well from the air harmful substances including heavy metals.
Settles on the rind of a watermelon during its transportation great amount bacteria, so be sure to wash it well before use.
In no case should you try a watermelon from a seller with a knife and generally allow you to cut a dirty watermelon!
The only Watermelon Museum in Russia was opened in 2006 in the city of Kamyzyak, Astrakhan Region.
Monument to watermelon in the village of Rivne, Saratov region and in Kherson
Watermelon production 2009 according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
| № | A country | Production of watermelons, t |
| 1 | China | 62 256 973 |
| 2 | Türkiye | 3 796 680 |
| 3 | Iran | 3 300 000 |
| 4 | Brazil | 2 092 630 |
| 5 | USA | 1 944 490 |
| 6 | Egypt | 1 912 991 |
| 7 | Russia | 1 060 000 |
| 8 | Mexico | 1 058 848 |
| 9 | Uzbekistan | 840 000 |
I used to think that Russia ranks first in the cultivation of watermelons, but it turned out that watermelons are produced not only in our country. The table shows that the first place belongs to China, and we are still in 7th place.
conclusions
After reviewing various sources of information, we learned:
Watermelon is a berry that brings great benefit the human body.
Our assumption that all watermelons have a spherical or slightly flattened shape was not confirmed. Japanese farmers grow cubic watermelons.
Our assumption that all watermelons are only with red pulp was not confirmed. Astrakhan scientists have developed a variety of watermelon with yellow flesh called "Lunny".
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