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ROSTOV-ON-DON, July 3 The collection of early watermelons has started in the Astrakhan region, Governor of the region Igor Babushkin announced in his Telegram channel.
In the current year, 8,000 hectares are occupied in the region under gourds. The leaders in growing sweet berries are the Volga, Akhtubinsky and Kamyzyaksky regions. Farmers plan to harvest 300 thousand tons of watermelons and melons, a third of the harvest is early varieties.
«Aslan Ganbarov's farm has also started picking early-ripening watermelons,» the governor wrote on his Telegram channel. The farmer has been working in the industry for 20 years, but this year he planted watermelons for the first time on 1.5 hectares of land.
The varieties planted by him are domestic: fast ripening, good yield. Next year, the farmer plans to increase the sown area by more than 10 times. So successful was the experimental landing.
«The government and the Ministry of Agriculture of the region are ready to provide all the necessary support to our farmers in terms of seeds, cultivation methods, and the sale of finished products,» Babushkin said.
The Astrakhan region is considered the «watermelon capital» of Russia. Every third Russian watermelon is grown in the region, and he himself is one of the main brands of the Astrakhan region. The geography of deliveries is extensive — from Moscow to Yamal. The berry is also exported to Belarus. Astrakhan breeders are actively developing new varieties of watermelon, including those with yellow and white flesh.