Melon Ethiopka is a mid-early variety, characterized by an amazing aroma, special taste and good transportability.
Grade description
This is a fairly powerful, but compact plant with heart-shaped leaves. The fruits of the melon are medium and large, have an oval-round shape. Their surface is segmented, slightly rough to the touch. The crust is quite dense, golden yellow, with an orange tint.
The weight of the fruit can be from 3 to 7 kg. The light yellow flesh is juicy, tender and very sweet in taste. Ethiopian
melon variety is intended for fresh consumption.
Growing seedlings
It is recommended to grow this heat-loving crop through seedlings. A long growing season allows you to get a higher yield. In addition, the plant does not suffer from frost, which means it will be much more resistant to various diseases. You need to prepare seedlings in mid-April. To accelerate the emergence of seedlings, the seeds before sowing are briefly soaked in water, the temperature of which is +24 ⁰. Small pots are prepared in advance, the diameter of which is at least 10 cm, filling them with a nutritious mixture. Sown seeds of Ethiopian melon are covered with foil and put away in a warm place. When the first shoots appear, the container is placed in a well-lit place, removing the film.
Care Features
Seedlings are planted in a permanent place when 5-6 leaves appear on it. The day before the transplant, the seedlings are abundantly watered with warm water. Small holes are made in the soil at a distance of about 50 cm from each other, to the bottom of which a spoonful of wood ash is added. Before planting, they are watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This helps to prevent mold. Then fill the wells with warm water, and after it is completely absorbed, plants are planted without deepening the root neck.
In the process of growth, Ethiopian melon requires the removal of lateral shoots so that one stem is formed.
Top dressing
Fertilize in the soil begin already at the stage of emergence of cotyledon leaves. During this period, the Uniflor-Bud remedy is used for watering, adding 1 teaspoon of it to 5 liters of settled water. Overmoistening of the soil should be avoided. Watering is done only when the soil surface is noticeably dry. The frequency of irrigation depends on the lighting: on more sunny days it is produced more often, less often on cloudy days.
Ethiopian melon, like pumpkin, is very fond of potassium, so from the moment of flowering it is recommended to water it with phosphorus-potassium top dressing, consisting of two tablespoons of potassium sulfate and one spoon of superphosphate. If the plants are not well developed, they should be used when watering the infusion of weeds.
Disease control
In the process of growth, melon can suffer from various diseases. This culture is most often affected by powdery mildew. First, white spots appear on the stem and on the upper (a little later on the lower) side of the leaves. Then the leaves gradually turn yellow and dry. The disease can affect the fruits of the plant.
Olive spotting is manifested in the fact that brown stains form on the stems and leaves. Sometimes light brown sores filled with olive-colored spores of the fungus may appear on the fruits. The border of damaged and healthy tissue is covered with gelatinous fluid. This disease leads to the death of the ovaries and the loss of presentation of the ripened fruit.
If the humidity is too high, the Ethiopian melon can be affected by anthracnose. The yellow-brown sores formed on the petioles and stems with a pink bloom affect the root part of the plant after some time, which leads to its death.
To prevent these diseases, timely spraying with special preparations intended for use in personal household plots will help. It can be "Hom", "Fitosporin", Bordeaux liquid. Good results are obtained by spraying with a mixture including Tsitovit, Epin-Extra and Zircon. For proper use, it is necessary to dissolve 2 drops of each drug in one liter of water.