With the watermelon season around the corner, the 29th National Watermelon Contest kicked off on May 25 with the 75.24kg, Jingxin 8 category watermelon being crowned winner.

Song, owner of the “Watermelon King”, has been the undisputed winner of the contest for 13 consecutive years. “This year, we have cultivated some watermelons rich in selenium and lycopene in small range. If they show good performance, we will introduce them to the market next year,” said Song Shaotang, the leader of “Laosong Guawang” company. At present, the total Xitiangua (a variety of watermelon) watermelon cultivation area covers 30,000 mu (about 20 square kilometers), of which Sheshixigua (another variety) watermelon cultivation area covers 23,000 mu (about 15.33 square kilometers), with an annual output of 110 million kilograms.