Export potential of watermelon plantations of Turkmenistan: breeding plus marketing
Among the crop production, grown by Turkmen farmers, melons and gourds take lead in terms of the volume growth rates. While the yields of vegetables and other fruits grew by 3-4%, the gifts of solar watermelon plantations, harvested this season by the beginning of July, are 35% more than in the first six months of the last year. Turkmenistan produces watermelons, melons, and pumpkins. All melons and gourds in our country have high nutritional qualities. At the same time, Turkmen farmers could be widely engaged in melon growing not only for domestic needs, but also exporting fresh melons and gourds to foreign markets. The country has already had an entrepreneurial experience in the production of new types of confectionery products and jams based on processed melons. Perhaps, in the future, it will grow into the industrial production of watermelon honey, molasses, candied fruits and other products. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization, currently the main melon crop - watermelon - is cultivated in more than 130 countries around the world. The area sown with watermelon exceeds 3.5 million hectares, the gross harvest is 104 million tons, and the average yield is 29.3 tons per hectare. It should be noted that the watermelon production growth in the world steadily increases. Among the largest producers in Europe are Greece, Spain, Serbia and Italy. Asia is the world's leader in watermelon production. Over 77% of the agricultural fields in the world sown with watermelons are in Asia, whereas about 9.5% - in Europe, and 7% - in America and Africa. Melon-growing in Turkmenistan that has the oldest traditions, nowadays, is provided with the seeds of the best varieties. The volumes of melons and gourds production in the country fully satisfy the needs of the local population, and the surplus could be exported. Turkmen melon growers are to master the methods of presale preparation of fruits - both at the stage of growing (giving the desired form) and after harvesting (sorting by size, quality, timing and place of cultivation, cutting into portions and packaging, etc.). Convenient for transportation and storage, square Japanese watermelons are sold for $90 each, but they can hardly compare to the taste of a 'traditional' round Turkmen watermelon. It's all about marketing. Many centuries ago, incomparable Turkmen melons were transported along the Great Silk Road to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, transported by caravans beyond the Ural and the Volga Rivers. It decorated the tables of Arab caliphs, Chinese emperors, Indian and European monarchs. In those ancient times, it was worth its weight in gold. However, even today, this exotic fruit is considered a luxury product. Hybrid melon Yubari, grown on the island of Hokkaido in Japan, is often given in this country as an expensive gift to respected people. They cost in stores of Japan $50 - $100 per piece, and much more expensive at auctions. The most expensive pair of melons (usually melons are sold in pairs) was sold for $26,000. It is forbidden to export them outside the country: the Japanese authorities included them into the list of non-exportable values. Nevertheless, any citizen in our country believes that there is no melon variety in the world that can be better than Turkmen melons. Our melon growers are the unsurpassed experts in this industry: from 1600 varieties of melons known in the world, about 400 of their best lines, selected and improved by national selection for thousands of years, are grown in Turkmenistan, where melons are hardly the cheapest food product. Thus, we have every opportunity to further increase the efficiency of melon growing, and its export competitiveness. Another important aspect is that the global warming will sooner or later force people to find the plant species and varieties taht are more adapted to arid conditions and high temperatures, and melons, due to their biological characteristics, rank among such plants. Due to the ability to yield crops in extreme conditions, melons can play a significant role in solving the food problem on the planet. Modern melon varieties and hybrids have the potential to become an even more valuable food resource. Melons and gourds can also be used as a source of water, since their fruits are composed of more than 90% of biologically bound water. There is every reason to consider melons and gourds not only as a source of nutrition, but also as an effective factor for strengthening people's health in the XXI century.
