Where Do Watermelons Grow
In the hot summer season, sweet and juicy watermelons always become a delightful refreshment. The unique growth characteristics of this cucurbitaceous plant and its thousand-year history of dissemination have formed the legendary story of its transformation from wild vines to a global fruit.
Geographical Characteristics of Watermelon Cultivation
The Inevitable Choice of Ground Growth
When mature, a single watermelon can weigh between 5-20 kilograms. This special physiological structure determines that it must be cultivated on the ground. Experimental data shows that suspended cultivation at a height of 50 centimeters above the ground can lead to a 78% increase in fruit drop rate and a 13% decrease in sugar content, which explains why 99% of commercial plantings worldwide adopt ground cultivation.
Golden Growing Belt Distribution
The subtropical monsoon zone between 23°-40° north latitude forms the golden belt for watermelon cultivation. The three major production areas in China, including Lingshui in Hainan, Nanning in Guangxi, and Dongtai in Jiangsu, with an average annual temperature of 22-28°C and 1200mm of rainfall, have created a high yield record of 45-60 tons per hectare. The Zhongwei area in Ningxia, with a day-night temperature difference of 10°C, has cultivated high-quality varieties with a sugar content of over 13%.
Watermelon Origin and Dissemination Trajectory
Wild Ancestor Research
Genetic sequencing studies have shown that modern watermelons share 92% genetic homology with wild bitter gourds in the Kalahari Desert of Africa. Archaeologists have discovered images of round striped fruits in 4000-year-old murals in Libya, supporting the theory that the northeastern part of Africa is the origin of cultivated watermelons.
Spread along the Silk Road
In the 4th century, it was introduced to China through Persian merchants along the Silk Road (X-J), and the unearthed watermelon seeds from the Astana ancient tomb in Turpan during the Tang Dynasty证实了this history. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, the cultivation range expanded to the Yellow River Valley, and watermelon vendors were already depicted in the "Qingming Shanghe Tu." The "Complete Works of Agricultural Administration" from the Ming Dynasty detailed 12 cultivation techniques.
Modern Industry Structure
Currently, China's annual watermelon production exceeds 60 million tons, accounting for 63% of the global total. The breakthrough in facility cultivation technology has extended the off-season cultivation of watermelons (G-Y) to 10 months, and the water and fertilizer integration system has reduced traditional water usage by 40%. From gene editing to cultivate seedless varieties to space breeding to enhance disease resistance, scientific and technological innovation continues to drive the development of the industry.
This sweet fruit that transcends time and space not only carries the development imprint of human agricultural civilization but also showcases the extraordinary achievements of modern agricultural technology. From the Sahara sand dunes to the farmlands of East Asia, the evolutionary history of watermelons is a concise history of plant domestication.