The origin of Hami melon is Hami

Without Jiageda, there would be no tribute Hami melon

Gong melon Jiageda has been cultivated by Hami melon farmers for thousands of years. A special melon variety, commonly known as "Big Skin Melon", is mainly distributed in Nanhu Township and Daquanwan Township of Hami City. It was a tribute melon variety in the Qing Dynasty. During the Republic of China, the cultivation area accounted for about 50 to 60% of the total Hami melon area. New China From its establishment to the mid-1980s, melons were Hami’s main commodity. So it is special. First, the fruit shape is stable. The average cavity length of Jiageda is 23 cm and width is 9.8 cm. A single melon weighs 5-12 kg. The fruit is oval and densely reticulated. The skin color is yellow-green and the flesh color is divided into milky white, light green and orange. The second is high sugar content. The sugar content of Hami's Jiagada is above 12.5-13%, the meat is crispy and the taste is excellent; thirdly, it is durable for storage and transportation. Jiageda is picked when mature in September and stored in warm cellars until the next spring. The "watermelon" in the folk song "Wearing a fur coat in the morning and wearing a gauze in the afternoon, embracing the stove and eating watermelon" refers to Jagada in cantaloupe. Experts believe that without the unique quality of Hami melon Jiageda that is durable in storage and long-distance transportation, there would be no tribute Hami melon. We say that the melon Jiageda is a special melon variety cultivated by Hami melon farmers for thousands of years. This is based on literature. For example, the "Hami County Chronicle" lists Jiageda as one of the nine local melon varieties, and the "Hami Regional Chronicle" lists Jiageda as one of the nine local melon varieties. "Clearly recorded that the melon Jiageda "originates in Hami", "Xinjiang Melon and Watermelon Chronicles" records: "Hami Jiageda" is "mainly distributed in Danan Lake, Hami County, with a small amount of cultivation in other parts of Hami." "Storage resistant, after storage The quality has improved and it is resistant to transportation. It has a high yield and large fruits in Danan Lake, Hami. ""High-quality and High-yield Cultivation of Melon" records: "Hami Jiageda is mainly produced in the Hami region of Xinjiang. Because it is extremely resistant to transportation, it was used as a tribute to the emperor in history. Hami melon. "Extremely resistant to storage and transportation."

Nanhu is a township in the southernmost part of Hami City, with an average altitude of only over 500 meters. It is a sandy fluvo-aquiloic soil with high groundwater level, large salinity and alkali, and a hot and dry climate. The annual evaporation is a hundred times the precipitation, the annual accumulated temperature is above 4400°C, and the temperature difference between day and night is large. It has unique natural conditions for the growth of cantaloupe. During the Qing Dynasty, Nanhu had been the main melon tribute area for the Hami kings. In 1981, agricultural scientists discovered wild melons (commonly known as dog melons) in Nanhu. Experts from the autonomous region determined that this was a primitive type of cantaloupe in the evolution of Hami melons. Jiageda has always been the main variety of Hami melons grown in Nanhu Township. At the 1981 Hami melon competition, the "Jiageda" produced by Group 2 and Group 1 of Baogazi Village in Nanhu and Zhao Yuting of Hongshan Village had the highest sugar content. All were above 13 and won the first, second and third prize respectively.