Kherson region plans to harvest more than 30 thousand tons of watermelons – 13 times less than before
22 July 2025 11:11
This year, more than 30 thousand tons of watermelons are planned to be harvested in the right-bank part of Kherson region, as the area under melons in the region has increased by one and a half times compared to last year. Dmytro Yunusov, Director of the Department of Agricultural Development and Irrigation of the Kherson Regional State Administration, told Vgoru.
According to him, in 2025, 1500 hectares were sown with watermelons, while last year this figure was more than 600 hectares. In addition, another 400 hectares were allocated for melons.
At the same time, expectations for this year’s yields were not met, as weather conditions had a negative impact on most crops. This includes both grain and industrial crops, as well as melons and gourds.
Yunusov noted that the yield of watermelons and melons varies significantly from community to community. In Chornobaivska, Muzykivska, and Bilozerska communities, both very low and high yields are recorded – from 20 to more than 60 tons per hectare.
One of the main reasons for the low yields was the spring frosts, which severely damaged young crops.
“On April 10, it was down to minus 10 degrees, and those farmers who sowed early watermelon had to re-sow, as 70% of the seeds froze. And those who relied on the later and sowed in early May got a higher yield of melons,”
– said Yunusov.
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Kherson region has lost the market
According to SuperAgronom.com, in 2021, 400 thousand tons of watermelons were harvested in the Kherson region, so the 30 thousand tons expected this year are not even 10% of the previous volumes.
As she told in an interview
“Until 2022, Kherson region produced up to 70% of all Ukrainian watermelons. But due to the occupation and hostilities, some farms were destroyed or evacuated. According to analytical centers, the acreage in the occupied part of the Kherson region has decreased by at least 60-70%. Instead, the leaders are Odesa region – actively increasing the area under melons, Mykolaiv region – despite the shelling, some producers have maintained production, Zaporizhzhia region – gradually returning to pre-crisis levels,”
– said the scientist.
According to her, the main melon production in the forest-steppe zone is now concentrated in the Left Bank part of the zone – Kharkiv and Poltava regions. Kharkiv region, which annually produces about 59.9 thousand tons of marketable watermelons on an area of 4.8 thousand hectares, holds a leading position among the regions of this zone. The share of the region in the gross production of this crop among the regions of Ukraine is 10.8%, and among the regions of the forest-steppe – about 35%.
Read more about how the watermelon market has changed, why you will have to pay a little extra this summer, which regions have replaced Kherson and what will happen to prices in August in the interview with the scientist
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