Pumpkin grades

Pumpkin is a useful vegetable crop, which has been grown from ancient times and used for various purposes. In addition to eating, it found its application in rituals, sacrifices, for the manufacture of medicines. In India, it is still widely used to treat tuberculosis. It is believed that its juice, dissolved in water in microscopic doses, can stop the spread of Koch's rods.

And, of course, for many centuries, many species and varieties of pumpkin have been bred. In total, there are about 27 different species of this plant in the world, of which only three species are suitable for growing in the middle belt:

• Muscat;
• hard-faced;
• large-fruited.

In each of these categories, many subspecies are distinguished.

What are pumpkin varieties?

All varieties of pumpkin can be conditionally divided into three groups:

• decorative;
• dining rooms;
• fodder.

For use in cooking, as a rule, fruits with a weight of up to 10 kg are suitable, pumpkins with a high weight, as a rule, are grown for the sale of sunflower seeds and for livestock feed.

Bushnut pumpkin: varieties

1. Solid Pumpkin - is resistant to colds and a relatively short period of maturation. On average, about 100 days pass from planting to harvesting. The berries of this species are not intended for long-term storage and should be processed as soon as possible after harvest. Such pumpkin varieties are good for juice . These include the following:

• "Gribovsky bush" - reaches a weight of 2.5-5 kg. The crust is light orange, with dark green stripes, the flesh is dark orange, sweet and dense;
• "Mozol" - orange, the figure is greenish-brown, the average weight is about 5 kg. The pulp is thick, about 4-5 cm, sweet and juicy;
• "Spaghetti" is an early variety, notable for the fact that after boiling the flesh breaks up into long fibers resembling pasta.

2. Varieties of large-fruited pumpkin are designed for long-term winter storage. These include:

• "Gribovskaya winter" - the fruits are long, light gray, bumpy, with a juicy sweet flesh;
• "Healing" - an early grade, the surface is light gray with a mesh pattern;
• "Kroshka" is a late variety, one plant yields no more than 2-3 fruits of 2.5-3 kg. The crust is light gray with pink, the flesh is thick and dense, but not very juicy.

3. Pumpkin muscat pear-shaped: varieties. The crust is bright orange, smooth, soft. Pulp is sweet, not very fibrous, which facilitates the cooking process. Distinguish the following varieties:

• "Muscat" - late-ripening variety, berries reach a weight of 6.5 kg. The pulp is soft, sweet, fragrant;
• "T-7" - has a dark green color with a mildly expressed mesh. Fruits are small - 1,5-2,5 kg;
• "Tsukatnaya" - also ripens late. The crust is light brown, the flesh is reddish.

Pumpkin fodder: varieties

For such varieties, for obvious reasons, the first place is not the taste, but the mass that the fruit can reach and its shelf life. Pumpkin sorts of fodder destination are also called technical, they include: "Stofuntovaya", "Michurinets", "Lel", "Valkos", "Ukrainian multiplane". On each site, however, as a result of perepyleniya fodder and table varieties, can also form their own, special hybrid varieties. In addition, as mentioned above, large-fruited varieties can also be used as fodder, fruits of which are specially grown to a large mass.

Decorative varieties of pumpkin

As the name implies, these varieties are not intended for consumption as food, but are used only as decorations, hand-made articles and entourage. The expediency of its cultivation by many is called into question, but on the other hand this business is not expensive and does not require special efforts. But then bright fruits can become an excellent decoration of the site, kitchen, villa. The best grades of decorative pumpkins include: "Ten praises", "Baby Boo", "Little Two-Colored", "Little Orange".