To grow a Romanza hybrid on your site, you must adhere to certain rules. Read more about the variety, its characteristics and features, as well as about growing and harvesting - below.
Watermelon variety "Romanza"
watermelon seeds grade "Romanza"
Cutting the watermelon "Romanza", you can enjoy the sweet, crisp, red color of the pulp
Description of watermelon
Watermelon Romanza is a relatively new melon hybrid from Dutch breeders. Experts recommend cultivating it in the North Caucasus region and in the Urals - in the Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions, Orenburg region and the Republic of Bashkortostan.
It was entered in the State Register of the Russian Federation in 2007.
It is a vigorous annual plant with medium length branches. Leaf size ranges from medium to large. They are painted in dark green or green. A lot of ovaries form on the plants, they can be harvested under favorable weather conditions and proper care up to 3 times per season. The fruits are medium, the weight of one berry does not exceed 8 kg.
Watermelons are round, smooth, green in color with medium-wide dark green stripes. The peel is thin. In overripe fruits, it is easily damaged. The pulp is red, medium density, crispy. It has a very high sugar content. Even a completely unripe watermelon with pink flesh is sweet.
Sunflower seeds are small, brown, speckled. Despite the fact that it is a hybrid with an early ripening period, it has a good shelf life and a long storage period of up to 1 month. The fruits are transportable.
Technical features
Possesses the following technical characteristics:
- Disease resistance. Romanza watermelon is moderately resistant to fusarium wilt and anthracnose.
- Cultivation in different regions. The crop is suitable for cultivation in southern regions and regions with cooler climates. In the latter case, shelter may be needed to protect the plant from frost. Crops are also covered with transparent film.
- The ripening period from transplanting seedlings. Hybrid refers to mid-early crops. You can try the first fruits after transplanting seedlings after 50-72 days, depending on the region of cultivation.
- Average fetal weight. On average, the fruits weigh 7.5 kg.
How to plant a watermelon?
When planting watermelon Romanza adhere to the following rules:
- Landing site. Watermelon does not tolerate any shading. Therefore, the site is selected open - the shadow from nearby buildings, trees should not fall on it; sheltered from the wind, slightly elevated and well warmed up. This hybrid is cultivated both outdoors and under cover.
- Seeds Romanza watermelon seeds are treated with Thiram fungicide to protect young plants from pathogenic microorganisms and pathogens. They are sown dry directly into the soil without preliminary treatment.
- The soil. The plant prefers to grow on sandy and sandy loam fertile soils with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. When growing watermelons in highly acidic soil, the fruits are small and crack before they ripen.
- Crop rotation. In one place, the culture is recommended to grow for only one year. They return her to this site only after 4 years. And also it is not worth planting it after the nightshade representatives - tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes and melons - melons, zucchini, squash, pumpkin and watermelons themselves.
- The method of sowing. Seeds are sown directly into open ground or practice the seedling method. However, plants from immediately planted seeds on the street grow more viable. Sowing is carried out in well-warmed soil - its temperature should not be lower than 15 ° C heat at a depth of 8-10 cm.
Seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place when recurrent frosts have passed, and there will be 3-4 true leaves on it. Distance between plants:- in a greenhouse using trellises - 70 × 70 cm;
- in the open ground - 140 × 140 cm.
The video below tells about the cultivation of Romanza watermelons:
Growing Features
The Romanza hybrid has its own growing characteristics:
- Watering. Water it at a young age abundantly. Dropped leaves are a signal for a lack of moisture. When fruits ripen, watering is reduced.
- Fertilizers. Watermelon responds well to organic and mineral fertilizers. A solution of mullein (in a ratio of 1:10 to water) is watered after planting seedlings 2-3 times per season with an interval of 10-15 days. This contributes to the rapid collection of green mass.
During the period of flowering and the formation of ovaries, the plant requires a large amount of potassium, so it is watered with an ash solution or fed with potassium-containing mineral fertilizers. All fertilizers are applied only after watering. - Bush formation. It is one of the main agrotechnical procedures. The first central lash is pinched at the beginning of growth, since predominantly male flowers are formed on it. This helps to accelerate the growth of the side lashes, it is on them that in most cases female flowers are laid and ovaries form.
Next, pinching the lashes is carried out when the fruits on them have grown to the size of an average apple. - Regionality. In the northern regions with cool and short summers, 3 lateral lashes are left on the plant, and 5–8 fruits on them. The rest of the shoots, growing throughout the growing season, are removed so that the plant directs all its strength and nutrients to ripening watermelons.
In the southern regions leave more fruits. However, the more they are on the plant, the smaller they will be. If you want to grow the largest watermelon, the optimal number of ovaries left on the bush should be no more than 3.
The plant can itself adjust the number of fruits if it does not have enough moisture or nutrition. In this case, some watermelons stop growing and dry out. - Mulching. This hybrid can also be covered with black foil. As a result:
- keeps the soil warm;
- weeds do not germinate;
- moisture is retained in the soil;
- no hard crust forms.
- Disease Prevention Although the Romanza hybrid is immune to diseases, it is not immune from their appearance, as well as from the attack of pests, and preventive measures will be useful. Watermelons are sprayed with a biological preparation - Fitoverm.
The use of more radical chemical insecticides is permissible during a massive invasion of insects. When preparing solutions, the manufacturer's instructions are strictly followed and the plants are sprayed at the agreed time so that the eaten watermelon does not harm human health.
From infections of fungal origin, it is treated with a solution of colloidal sulfur, “Hom”. Treatment will be effective if drugs are used at the initial stage of the disease.
Harvesting
Ripe watermelon is recognized by the following features:
- drying stalk;
- wilting tendrils and leaves;
- the crust becomes shiny over the entire surface;
- a yellow spot appears on its side, where it was in contact with the ground;
- knocking on it makes a dull sound.
Fruits are harvested in dry sunny weather. Watermelon Romanza is stored without loss of taste or appearance for 1 month.
Reviews about the variety Romanza
Mostly positive reviews are expressed about this variety:
Nikolay, 43 years old, Moscow region. This is not the first year I have been growing Romanza from Dutch seeds. Young plants are capricious, they are constantly under my supervision. But then they grow up, become stronger. They bear fruit perfectly.
Oksana Yakovlevna, 56 years old, Chelyabinsk region. I liked the variety. True, he did not reach the declared 6 kg. Tastefully not deceived. Very sweet, it feels like eating nectar.
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The cultivation of new hybrids is often a concern. Variety Romanza is no exception. However, subject to the basic rules of cultivation and care, it will delight not only with a rich harvest, but also with delicious sweet fruits similar to honey.