Juicey Slices

! According to 1998 edition of The Guinness Book of World Records, in 1990, Bill Carson of Arrington, USA, grew the largest watermelon weighing 119 kg. The word “watermelon” first appeared in English by 1615.

! Like seedless oranges, Japanese scientists were the first to develop seedless watermelon. Agricultural researchers in India have also developed an experimental seedless variety and called it Pusa Bedana.

! There is enough evidence to indicate that the watermelon is a native of tropical Africa. The explorer, David Livingstone, mentions them in his diary.

! The first recorded harvest of watermelon was nearly, 5,000 years ago in Egypt where watermelons were grown and regarded not only for their flavour but also for their beauty. It has been depicted in Egyptian wall paintings. Pharaohs stocked watermelons in their tombs.

! It is said that when children of Israel wandered in the desert after their flight from Egypt, they remembered the watermelons they left behind.

! A very large number of watermelon varieties are grown in India. They have very exotic names like Noorjehani, Anarkali, Sharbat-e-Anar, etc. Some varieties are named after the towns near which they are grown — Faizabadi, Jaunpuri and Farukhabadi — all of them along the banks of the Ganga and the Yamuna.

! Sugar baby, an American variety is very popular in Maharashtra. West Bengal grows the Asahi Yamato, a Japanese variety.

The voyage of watermelon
Shirish Joshi

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020506/agro.htm#1