Melon is not only a tasty treat, but also a storehouse of vitamins and minerals that can help restore the “useful” reserves of the human body. The level of this benefit depends on many factors, and first of all, on the variety of culture. This article will discuss one of the most valuable representatives of this culture called Amal F1. What is remarkable about this melon, how to plant it correctly, and what you should know about the features of further care - read on.

Breeding History and Main Growing Regions

Melon Amal F1 is an early ripe hybrid variety bred at the end of the 20th century in France. The authors of the new melon were breeders of the famous breeding and seed company Clause. Amal quickly took root in Ukraine and in most of Russia, not to mention Moldova, in whose territory it was also recommended for cultivation.

Features of cultivation in the Russian Federation depend on a specific region: for example, in the Kursk and Voronezh regions, seeds can be sown directly in the garden without worrying about the effects of the cold. In the northern regions of the Russian Federation, a seedling method of growing a crop will be more acceptable, where after short care at home, young plants are planted on the site. In addition, the Amal hybrid melon feels great in greenhouses, regardless of the region where the shelter is located.

Description and characteristic

The appearance and characteristic features of Amal melon will be interesting to any gardener, because with high taste and vivid external data, the plant is relatively unpretentious in care.

Appearance

The fruits of this variety are elongated, rounded oval in shape, with a fine mesh applied to the surface. The average weight of melons is 2.5–3 kg, although often larger specimens weighing up to 4 kg are also found. Under the yellow-orange (sometimes brownish) dense skin is a fragrant, juicy pulp of a light orange color, with a slight pink tint and a relatively small seed chamber.

Did you know? Melon should be eaten separately from other foods or drinks (especially milk or alcohol). Violation of this requirement can lead to digestion, therefore, to avoid such unpleasant consequences, at least an hour must elapse between the main meal and the consumption of melon.

It is noteworthy that the root system of Amal plants is highly developed and very powerful, so that the bushes easily get all the nutrients they need from the soil.

Taste and smell

The ripened Amal melons are always juicy and very sweet, and their strongly pronounced aroma is a bit like pineapple. Since the fruits ripen at the same time, you can catch their smell during mass cultivation already a few tens of meters from the planting site. The yield of the variety is quite high: from 1 ha (when planting about 6–8 thousand plants) it is quite possible to get about 50-60 tons of ripe fruits, which means that from 1 m² of plantings, gardeners collect at least 9.3 kg of melons.

Ripening and flowering periods

The duration of ripening of Amal melon is 70–85 days from the moment of sowing the seeds, which means that the first light yellow flowers will appear on the bushes already in early or mid-June (depending on climatic conditions). A ripened fruit crop can be harvested in the middle or end of July, focusing on the signs of its ripening: color, aroma, density, etc.

Chemical composition

Amal melon is characterized by the presence of juicy and sweet pulp of dessert flavor, but this is not all its advantages. A careful study of the chemical composition of the fetus reveals a large number of vitamins and minerals present in it, the most famous of which are:

• vitamins A, E, C, group B;
• manganese and copper;
• calcium and magnesium;
• potassium and sodium;
• iron and chlorine.

The calorie content of aromatic fruits is low and averages 30–33 kcal per 100 g of product.

In this case, the ratio of the BJU was distributed as follows:

• proteins - about 0.6 g;
• fats - 0.3 g;
• carbohydrates - 7.4 g (per 100 g of product).

Plus qualities and possible disadvantages of the variety

Amal melons have many positive qualities, but at the same time they are not without certain drawbacks, so before planting, you should carefully study all their features.

• The advantages of the variety include:
• high productivity (in some regions reaches 14 kg from 1 m²);
• large-fruited melons;
• high commercial quality;
• high resistance to certain diseases (especially dry rot, fusarium, powdery mildew);
• relatively uniform and early ripening of fruits;
• their universal application.

Many gardeners consider the main drawback of this variety to be high demands on growing conditions, because with high humidity, prolonged drought or sudden temperature extremes, the quality of the crop will significantly decrease.

Important! Melon is a heavy product for the human digestive system, so no more than 300-500 g of pulp per adult consumer is considered an ideal daily norm.

Given the rich vitamin and mineral composition of Amal melon, it is not surprising that it is recommended for use with:

• anemia and general exhaustion of the body;
• hormonal disruptions;
• cardiac abnormalities;
• diseases of the nervous system.

In addition, melon fruits will be appropriate for various vitamin deficiencies, as they help to replenish the supply of nutrients in the human body.

Cultivation agricultural

Since the Amal melon variety is characterized by increased demands on growing conditions, proper cultivation agricultural technology plays a primary role in obtaining an abundant and high-quality fruit crop. Starting from the choice of a place or planting dates and ending with the collection of ripened melons, each gardener must adhere to certain simple recommendations.

Dates and place of landing

Among many other varieties of melon, Amal can be considered the most suitable option for growing in the central part of the Russian Federation. Being a heat-loving crop, the plant is not afraid of a short drought, but does not tolerate drafts, and in the same way as it does not tolerate the lack of sunlight. Accordingly, choosing a site for sowing seeds, you need to focus only on areas well lit and closed from sudden gusts of wind, with a nutritious and neutral substrate.

Alkaline soils are not suitable for the Amal variety, since an excess of calcium salts gives the earth rigidity and increases its density, which is unacceptable for melon.The best predecessors for the described culture are cabbage, potatoes and beans. On the territory of Western Europe, Moldova, Ukraine and the southern parts of the Russian Federation, where sharp cooling is no longer expected in mid-April, you can sow seeds immediately on the beds, making sure that the air has already warmed up to comfortable for melons + 15 ... + 17 ° C, and the soil temperature reached + 10 ... + 12 ° C (at a depth of 10 cm). However, depending on the specific region, such conditions may occur at the end of April or even the beginning of May.

Sowing pattern and depth

The optimal distance between adjacent holes with Amal melon seeds is at least 70–80 cm, while it is better to leave up to 1.5 m of free space between rows. Preparation of the site for planting gourds begins in the fall, digging up the soil and introducing fertilizer into it. The role of the latter is perfectly suitable for rotted manure, at the rate of 4 kg per 1 m² of area of ​​future plantings.

Did you know? The largest officially registered melon in history is considered to be an Australian fruit grown in 2009. Its weight was 447.5 kg, and Christopher Schieder, a resident of the town of Hartberg (Austria), turned out to be a famous gardener, who received a cash prize of 1.3 thousand for his work Euro.

By reducing its concentration by 2 times, the fertilizer can be put directly into the holes (especially if melon seedlings are expected to be planted) or, mixed with soil, evenly distributed over the bed, so that under the influence of natural precipitation the organic matter is better absorbed into the ground. When sowing seeds in one hole, 3-4 seeds are planted at once, deepening them into the ground by about 3-5 cm. When planting seedlings, the depth of its seeding is calculated based on the size of the rhizome of plants and averages at least 20-25 cm.Melon planting pattern.

Melon Care

After sowing, watering and a little soil compaction at the melon planting site, it remains to organize the culture proper further care, taking into account the required amount of fertilizing, regular moistening of beds and soil cultivation.

Temporary shelter

Temporary shelter for sown melons is relevant in regions with possible fluctuations in temperature indicators, where spring daytime heat can quickly give way to nighttime cooling, up to frost. Of course, a thermophilic culture will not like such changes, so that seeds or young shoots do not freeze, they are placed above them with a protective film cover, plastic bottles (convenient for a small number of plants) or a spanbond mounted on a metal frame.

The height of the structure can reach 50-60 cm, and the width and length are calculated based on the size of the beds. The design of the temporary shelter is always made collapsible, so that towards the end of May it would be easy to remove the protection and, if necessary, quickly install it in another part of the garden.

Watering and fertilizer

You can water the Amal melon only with well-heated water in the sun, about 1 time in 2-3 days. If possible, it is advisable to carry out the procedure in the morning, avoiding the contact of leaves with water. To ease the task of moistening the soil, under the bushes you can organize a drip irrigation system by rolling the tape between rows with plantings. When the formed fruits begin to ripen, watering is completely stopped, thereby protecting them from cracking.

Fertilize plants only twice: during the formation of the first leaf and 2 weeks after that. In this case, complex mineral fertilizers or phosphorus-potassium mixtures (50 g) dissolved in a bucket of water are considered the best nutritional compounds.

Weed control

Weed plants are able to drown out any young culture, but melons are especially sensitive to them.. Weeds not only take part of the nutrient components from the soil, but also cover young plants from the sun, which they really need for rapid growth and development. For this reason, the fight against excess vegetation during the cultivation of melon Amal occupies one of the main places in the list of basic actions for caring for the crop.It is most convenient to remove weeds soon after the next watering, because at this time they are easiest to get out of the soil. You can use tweezers to get rid of small plants, but you should not treat the plantings with chemicals, otherwise there is a serious probability of damage to the culture itself.

Harvesting and storage features

Amal fruits ripen in late July or early August, and you can determine the most suitable time for harvesting by the color of the melon peel: from saturated yellow, it becomes orange or even slightly brownish. In this state, the fetus is easily separated from the fruit stem, but even if this is not the case, it is still better to pick it. Being slightly immature, it perfectly tolerates transportation and can be used to create blanks.

Important! The cut fruit can only be stored in the refrigerator, and then — no longer than three days. After this time, the fetus loses its taste and a significant part of its beneficial properties.

How to choose a ripe melon when buying

If you have never grown a melon and want to buy it in a market or in a store, it is important to know about the main signs of quality fruits. First of all, pay attention to the following characteristics of the instance you like:

1. The aroma. The smell of ripe, unspoiled fruits is always clearly visible and is distinguished by tangible honey, pear or even pineapple notes. Unripe specimens either do not exude aroma at all, or give off with subtle notes of greenery. Overripe melons, especially if they are slightly spoiled, produce a not very pleasant aroma, because of which it is unlikely to want to buy them.
2. Sound. As with choosing a watermelon, the sound of tapping a melon can tell a lot about it. Ripe fruits always give a dull echo, while the unripe ones always “ring out”.
3. External data of the fetus. This criterion is always the most informative, because by visual inspection, you can evaluate the color of the fetus, the presence of corrupted places or mechanical damage on it, uniformity of color. Much of the issue of color depends on the varietal characteristics of the plant, so when buying Amal fruits, you need to remember that fully ripe specimens are always yellow-orange or even brownish.
4. The elasticity of the surface. When pressing on the peel of ripened fruit, it will always spring, but on the surface of the ripened melons, dents from fingers will definitely remain.
5. Ease of peeling. If you pry off the skin with a fingernail, you can easily separate it from the pulp, which means that the selected melon is well ripe and ready to eat.

In general, the Amal variety is a good solution both in terms of the universality of eating ripe fruits and in terms of growing them, so with a little effort, very soon juicy and fragrant melons will appear on your table, with an impressive supply of useful ingredients. If you are not going to grow your own culture, then following the above recommendations, you can purchase a ready-made ripe copy for personal use.

Video: melon amal f1