A Paraguayan farmer has decided to grow square watermelons, given the success that this fruit has in Japan. This year, he is testing out 20 units and his goal is to achieve the quality necessary to launch the fruit to the market next year.
Producer Cirilo Acuña decided to bet on this idea when, in 2018, several people that had been misguided by false information asked the producers of La Colmena, Department of Paraguarí, about square watermelons, which up until then had only been grown in the Asian continent. “Last year there was some misinformation stating that the square watermelons were being produced in La Colmena, which was a lie. People began to ask about them and that caught my attention, so I decided to experiment. I think it will be a total success,” he said.
Acuña is a fruit and vegetable producer, but he only grows watermelon for self-consumption. However, as a result of this project, he has prepared 100 plants to continue his trials. He has also bought 20 boxes from Japan, worth G. 200,000 each, to continue experimenting until he reaches the quality needed to start selling his products in the market next year.
The Japanese boxes have an opening where the fruit is introduced in its first moments of formation and, as it grows, it adopts the shape of the container that contains it.
During the first tests, the farmer observed that the size of the Japanese boxes was too small for the national watermelon, so he is looking for a manufacturer in Paraguay that can design an appropriate box for the Paraguayan fruit.
Soon, he also intends to experiment with melons.
Source: ultimahora.com
