The wild melon (چڀڙ) Cucumis melo agrestis, Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis var. agrestis is an organic fruit and vegetable of Tharparkar Desert. The wild melon (A Chibhar) is an annual seasonal fruit or vegetable and it is the wild specie of melon and belongs to Cucurbitaceae family and vine vegetable group.

Chibhar (Wild Melon)

The delicious organic vegetable dish of Tharparkar “wild melon (Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis var. agrestis)” is famous by its testy flavor. It is a warm temperature and tropic zone specie. It can be cultivated on specific natural agricultural practices with average 150 to 200 mm rainfall range.

The wild melon (چڀڙ) Cucumis melo agrestis, Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis var. agrestis is a native specie of Thar Desert (Tharparkar Pakistan and Thar Rajasthan) but it is also found in most of the regions of globe such as;

  • Florence, Alabama
  • Gravette, Arkansas
  • Clearlake, California
  • Pensacola, Florida
  • Kenner, Louisiana
  • North Augusta, South Carolina
  • Dickson, Tennessee
  • Westmoreland, Tennessee
  • Elmendorf, Texas
  • Santa Fe, Texas

Types of Wild Melon

The wild melon can be divided into different types by size, shape and flavor. Peoples of Tharparkar Desert called Chibhar, Kotenbar, Muth Kotenbar etc. These are different from each other by their size, shape and flavor.

The wild melon of Tharparkar are pure organic and free from use of all chemical fertilizer and pesticides. These are drought resistant, rarely people cultivate it, otherwise it grow up naturally in pastureland and everywhere. The vine of has more herbaceous branched with some lobed leaves, 9-12 mm across yellow flowers. The wild melon are found in different shapes like oval, apple, and round fruits with light to dark green skin, dark green patches, pale green flesh, pickle.

Must Read:

"I have read some articles and saw the caption of some photos, which has been 
published different sites about wild melon. Some of them has shared the local 
name of wild melon is ‘Kachri’".

This is for your kind information that ‘Kachri’ is something else it not the local name of wild melon (Chibhar). The local names of wild melon are Chibhar, Chibhirya, Kotenbar, Muth Kotenbar. ‘Kachri’ is the dried and preserved slice of melon and wild melon.

The wild melon Cucumis melo agrestis, Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis var id full fruit eatable including its seeds and seed with seed cost.

Wild Food preservation practices:

Thar is drought prone zone and the agriculture in Tharparkar is totally rain dependent. Mostly peoples are framer. It has been observed that every second year is mild drought and every 3 or 4 year is severe drought.

The experiences taught the lessons, and to survive they had to find many ways of food and fodder preservation. The food and fodder preservation are the key copying strategies to cope drought situation. Therefore, the peoples of Thar were known to be adopt the food preservation. Peoples of Thar preserve every wild vegetable, fruit, grains and fodder for their livestock.

Read more:

Preservation Techniques are in use:

They use very simple wild melon preservation techniques.

  • Cut it in small pieces and dry under direct sunlight without any use of chemical or salt.
  • Remove the peel (outer rind or skin) of wild melon and then cut it small slices and keep it in safe place till to fully dried out.
  • Remove the peel (outer rind or skin) of wild melon and rub a generous amount of salt and dry it in shed.
  • Cut it in two pieces robe a generous amount of salt and dry it in shed.

 

Jhangi Zone: 11/13/2019
The writer can be reached at jhangi@gmail.com
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