Watermelon

Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. It is a large, sprawling annual plant with coarse, hairy pinnately-lobed leaves and white to yellow flowers. It is grown for its edible fruit. Watermelons are tropical or subtropical plants and need temperatures higher than about 25 °C to thrive. On a garden scale, seeds are usually sown in pots under cover and transplanted into well-drained sandy loam with a pH of between 5.5 and 7 and medium nitrogen levels.

Aphids, fruit flies and root-knot nematodes attack this crop and if humidity levels are high, the plants are prone to plant diseases, such as powdery mildew and mosaic virus. The flesh of watermelon can be red, orange, yellow or white. A watermelon contains about 6% sugar and 91% water. As with many other fruits, it is a good source of vitamin C and is low in fat and sodium.