MELON AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

Melons from Central Asia have a great reputation for their unique flavour and sweetness. They have several useful properties. They contain 85–92% water, 8–15% dry matter, 0.8% protein, 1.8% cellulose and 6.2% other carbohydrates, 0.9% fat, 0.6% ash, 20– 30 mg% vitamin C, 0.03–0.07 mg% of other vitamins and microelements, such as Zn, Fe, Ca, Mg, K, and P. Sugar content in Central Asian melons can reach up to 14–16%. Sugar can be represented by glucose and/or fructose. This fact adds to relevance to the use of melons as a health food and as medicinal plants. When fructose is prevalent melon pulp is very sweet, and when glucose is prevalent it is somewhat sweet. All these factors define the dietary value of melons, their medicinal properties, and use in human medicine. This article analyses the growth development and yield of the melon species cultivated in the lower Amudarya and the amount of sugars in the melon fruit, the size and weight results. Studied species of melon have been preserved not planting since 1980.Afterwards information has analyzed above their development in the 1980s, the collection melon of local varieties was carried out in all areas of the Republic by the Institute of Vegetable, Ornamental and Potato Studies. Nowadays the institute has a collection of melon varieties of more than 350 local melons. This large collection of seeds of local varieties of melon is kept in the institute. Keeping this collection for future generations, using them as the first source is a practical innovation for learning, breeding and selection, and showing their characteristics in today's environmental conditions.