Farmers in Beijing's outskirtan rural areas have planted 670 hectares in watermelon seeds that have traveled in space on a Chinese-made satellite, Beijing Youth News reported Tuesday.
Beijing's Daxing District, the leading watermelon producer in Beijing area, sowed watermelons in 9,600 square meters of greenhouses this year. One fifth of the area was for the species that had been in space.
The district, which began working with the Chinese Research Institute of Space Technology in 1997, planted the 747 melon seed strains which were sent to outer space in China's 17th satellite and stayed in orbit for 15 days.
That autumn, the melons grown from the space seeds were a mixed bag - some were yellow skinned, some traditional green, and some were oval instead of the usual round shape.
Most of those planted this year are early-ripening melons. Beijing residents are expected to taste delicious, juicy space watermelons in May. The new variety would have more sugar and less fiber contents. But its price will be similar to regular watermelons.
(People’s Daily January 14, 2003)
