A group of young scientists in the southern Russian region of Astrakhan have succeeded in creating a hybrid species of “orange watermelon,” the press office of local governor Alexander Zhilkin announced on his website Wednesday.
Speaking Friday at a meeting between the governor and a group of local academics aged 30 and under, Artem Sokolov, a scientist who worked on the project, explained how the color of the watermelon flesh — which comes in various shades of orange ?€” ? is a unique variety.
The new variety is the result of a new technology resulting in the production of F1 hybrid seeds in the vine crop family, the governor's site reports. ?€?We have developed types of watermelon, melon, squash and zucchini, many of which have no analogues in the world,?€? Sokolov was quoted as saying.
According the site, supermarkets have already showed an interest in the new variety of ?€?colored?€? watermelons.