Salt Lake Melon [Ningxia Salt Lake Specialty]

What is Salt Lake Melon? Authentic Ningxia Salt Lake Specialty: Salt Lake Melon

Summary:Do you want to know what Salt Lake Melon is? This article is a detailed introduction to the special product of Yanchi in Ningxia - Yanchi Melon. It was compiled and edited by the editorial team of China Specialty Network after reviewing and collecting relevant information on Yanchi Melon. The full text takes about 12 minutes to read, mainly including the basic introduction of Yanchi Melon and the product characteristics of Yanchi Melon? Wait

Basic Introduction of Yanchi Melon

Yanchi Melon is a specialty of Yanchi County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and a geographical indication product of China.

. Yanchi County is located on the southern edge of the Maowusu Desert and is a mountainous county in the arid zone of central Ningxia. It belongs to a typical continental monsoon climate, with abundant light energy, sufficient sunshine, and large temperature differences. It is a high-quality melon and fruit planting area. The watermelon and cantaloupe produced have thin and tough skin, sweet and sandy flesh, and excellent quality. Winning widespread praise from various merchants and consumers

Regional Scope

Yanchi County is located in the eastern part of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, belonging to the transitional zone from the Ordos Plateau to the Loess Plateau. It is situated between 106 ° 33 ′ -107 ° 47 ′ E longitude and 37 ° 04 ′ -38 ° 10 ′ N latitude, with an average elevation of 1600 meters, a width of about 66 kilometers from east to west, and a length of about 110 kilometers from north to south. It borders Dingbian, Shaanxi Province to the east, Huan County, Gansu Province to the south, Etuoke Front Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to the north, and Lingwu and Tongxin cities (counties) in the west. The total area is 8661.3 square kilometers. Yanchi's melon production areas include Huamachi, Wanglejing Township, Qingshan Township, and Gaoshawo within the scope of Yanchi County. There are 15 production areas in the town, with a total production area of 700 hectares and an annual total output of 18000 tons

Natural ecological environment and cultural and historical factors

(1) Soil and landform conditions: Yanchi County has abundant land resources. Due to its location in the transitional zone from the Ordos Plateau to the Loess Plateau, the central and northern parts are gentle and hilly areas with undulating terrain and continuous sand dunes, accounting for about 80% of the total area. The southern part is the Loess Plateau area, with crisscrossing gullies and alternating beams and depressions, accounting for about 20% of the total area. Most of the soil is ordinary gray calcareous soil and light gray calcareous soil, with rich calcium and phosphorus content and mineral element content of more than 40 kinds. The economy is mainly based on agriculture and animal husbandry, and agricultural products are less polluted, belonging to an excellent green industrial environment. The special soil conditions are highly in line with the ecological characteristics of sweet melons, which have laid a solid foundation for the development of the sweet melon industry in Yanchi

(2) Hydrological situation: The salt pond melon production area has high-quality and effective shallow underground water

(3) Climate situation: Yanchi County has distinct four seasons, long cold periods, and rainy and hot seasons, belonging to a typical continental monsoon climate. There is a large temperature difference between day and night here, with an annual sunshine duration of 2892.1 hours, an average annual temperature of 8.3 ℃, and a cumulative temperature of 2944.9 ℃. 7. The highest temperature in August and September can reach 37.8 ℃, and the lowest temperature can reach 2.4 ℃. The annual precipitation is only 290 millimeters, and the evaporation is as high as 2041.8 millimeters, making it a typical high sunshine area. The average frost free period is 148 days. During the growing season of cantaloupe, there is sufficient sunshine and a large temperature difference between day and night, which provides sufficient heat conditions for the growth of cantaloupe in salt ponds

(4) Cultural and historical situation: Melons have a long history of cultivation in Yanchi County. According to the "Yanchi County Annals", melon cultivation has a history of nearly 100 years. The special geographical, climatic conditions, soil resources, and high-quality groundwater provide unique conditions for the development of cantaloupe. The cantaloupe grown has high sugar content, refreshing and crisp taste, and good edible quality. It is very popular in the market and is a crop with high economic benefits. In 2006, Yanchi County was listed as a standardized production base for pollution-free cantaloupe by the Ningxia Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Department, which effectively promoted the enthusiasm of farmers to plant cantaloupe and led to the development of cantaloupe towards industrialization and scale. The annual planting area of cantaloupe remained at around 700 hectares, with an annual total output of about 18000 tons

Production technology requirements

(1) Origin selection and special content regulations: The salt pond melon planting area is located in the salt pond well irrigation area, with no industrial or mining enterprises in the production area, no environmental pollution, and the atmosphere and soil in the area meet relevant national standards. The environmental quality of the production area must comply with the requirements of the "Environmental Conditions for Pollution free Food Hami Melon Production Area" (NY5181-2002)

(2) Variety selection and specific requirements: Melon is a cold edible fruit, and should be selected as the main planting variety with a sweet and sandy aroma, thick skin, storage resistance, and easy transportation. It should be appropriately paired with Xiangmi No.1

(3) Production process management: The production process of salt pond cantaloupe must comply with the "Production Operation Regulations for Pollution free Food cantaloupe" (NY/T5180-2002)

(4) Product harvesting and transportation: Different varieties are required to be harvested separately, packaged separately, and transported separately. Pick and sell immediately to maintain the freshness and palatability of sweet melons. During the transportation of cantaloupe, it is required to handle it gently to prevent squeezing

(5) Production record requirements: Each melon planting plot should have relevant data records, including input sources, harmless treatment of farm manure, seed varieties, deep plowing and sun drying time of farmland, planting time, as well as field management and harvesting time such as tillage and weeding. There are sales records of cantaloupe: sales contracts, sales channels. All records should be kept for at least two years after the melon is released from storage

4 Typical Quality Characteristics and Product Quality

(1) External Sensory Features: Melon has a uniform individual, high sugar content, fresh color, delicious taste, refreshing and crisp taste, and good edible quality.

(2) Intrinsic quality indicators: Its taste is sweet and cool, containing various vitamins, carbohydrates, iron, calcium, zinc, selenium and other minerals

(3) Safety requirements: Salt pond melons shall comply with the NY5109-2005 standard for pollution-free food such as sweet melons

Packaging and labeling regulations

Salt pond melons are divided into two types based on the degree of grain plumpness: special grade and first grade. The packaging used is woven bags. The packaging bag should indicate the product batch number and be labeled with the words "Salt Pond Melon". Storage and transportation shall comply with the "Green Food Storage and Transportation Guidelines" (NY/T1056-2006)

Hongcheng No. 10

The main variety of sweet melon in Yanchi County, with the original code 95-58, was selected by the Daming Agricultural Science Research Institute of Ulanhot City in 1995 through hybridization with 3S as the female parent and 48-1 as the male parent. It belongs to the mid to early maturing variety, with a full growth period of about 75 days and a flowering to fruit maturity period of about 28 days. The plant grows vigorously and the fruit is wide pear shaped. When mature, the standard weight of a single melon is 300-500g. The skin is yellow white with a slight green color, smooth surface, beautiful appearance, good marketability, white flesh, vitamin C content of 22.52mg/100g, soluble solids content of 15%, meat thickness of 1.5%, sweet and crisp, with a strong aroma. The plant has strong resistance to stress, resistance to wilt disease, resistance to anthracnose disease, storage and transportation, and good yield. The fruit setting rate under low temperature in greenhouse cultivation is significantly higher than that of similar varieties. From 1998 to 1999, experiments were conducted in the three northeastern provinces and Inner Mongolia region, with an average yield of 39822.79/h ㎡, an increase of 21.15% compared to the control Qitian No.1. In 2000, production trials were conducted in the three provinces of Northeast China and Inner Mongolia, with an average yield of 40140.27/h ㎡, an increase of 20.5% compared to the control Qitian No.1. Suitable for open field plastic film covering and protected cultivation in Inner Mongolia, the three provinces of Northeast China, South China, North China and other regions

Wangyuan No. 3

The main variety of sweet melon in Yanchi County, also known as Yiwofeng, is an early maturing variety with strong plant growth potential. The fruit is pear shaped, the skin is light yellow white, with 8-10 shallow longitudinal edges, the flesh is yellow white, crisp, and has a fragrant taste. The flesh is yellow white, and the weight of a single fruit is 400-500 grams, with a soluble solid content of 12-15%. Both Ziman and Sunan can bear fruit, and the fruit is not easy to fall off the stem, with strong stress resistance. The average yield per mu is 1500 kilograms to 2000 kilograms. Not easy to invert, resistant to storage and transportation, low temperature, weak light, suitable for protected cultivation