Kırkağaç Kavunu

Kırkağaç Kavunu is a melon cultivated exclusively in the District of Kırkağaç within Manisa province in the Aegean region of Türkiye. The European Commission entered it in the Union register of geographical indications on 25 July 2025, by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1519, published in Official Journal L 2025/1519. It is the first Turkish agricultural PDO registered under Regulation (EU) 2024/1143, which replaced Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 as the governing legal framework for EU geographical indications. The Turkish domestic GI application was published in the Official e-Bulletin of Turkish Patent and Trademark Office No: 107, dated 12 January 2009. The Single Document application was published in OJ C/2025/1823 on 24 March 2025; no opposition was received within the three-month period.

The production area is the entire territory of the District of Kırkağaç, situated in the Kırkağaç Plain within the Bakırçay Basin — the northernmost of four east-west trough areas of the Aegean region. Two cultivar types are recognised: Kırkağaç-589 and Kırkağaç-637 (also called 'Altınbaş'). Control authority is the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry — General Directorate of Food and Control (Gıda ve Kontrol Genel Müdürlüğü), Ankara.

What makes it distinct

The two recognised types differ in form but share common skin characteristics: a thickness of 1.0–1.5 cm, a rough embroidered surface, and a greenish stain on a yellow background. Kırkağaç-589 is long and cylindrical with a pointed, protruding stem and can be stored through the winter season. Kırkağaç-637 (Altınbaş) has a round fruit structure with a slightly grained surface; its skin colour and structure are otherwise the same as Kırkağaç-589.

The flesh is characterised by a plump texture, with areas near the skin showing a greenish hue and inner portions showing a light orange-white coloration. The taste is sweet with a dominant aroma of linden flowers; secondary aromas are mushroom and squash. The fruit pulp is aqueous. Despite high sugar content, the elevated citric acid level prevents an overwhelming sweetness and adds a characteristic refreshing quality.

A defining commercial feature is the shelf life: when stored at 15°C and 80% relative humidity in well-ventilated storage — suspended by string tied around the fruit and looped over nails in vertical poles — Kırkağaç Kavunu can be kept for up to six months. Standard Turkish summer melons store for 10–15 days; even winter melon varieties typically last only 40–60 days.

Physical and chemical properties

The following values are taken directly from the Single Document (OJ C/2025/1823):

Kırkağaç-589:

• Fruit weight: 3–6 kg

• Fruit diameter: 15–25 cm

• Fruit size: 20–28 cm

• Ripening day: 90–110 days

• Shape: long, shell-patterned, greenish-stained on yellow background

Kırkağaç-637 (Altınbaş):

• Fruit weight: 3–5 kg

• Fruit diameter: 16–26 cm

• Fruit size: 18–20 cm

• Ripening day: 90–110 days

• Shape: round oval, slightly grained surface, greenish-stained on yellow background

Shared characteristics (both types):

• Fruit skin thickness: 1.0–1.5 cm

• Fruit flesh thickness: 7.0–8.5 cm

• Seed cavity content: 250–350 g

• Seed cavity diameter: 3.7–4.5 cm

• Brix (soluble solids): 10.8–13.2%

• Fruit pulp fibre: 0.3–0.9%

• Total sugar content: 6.14–6.19 g/100g

• Sucrose content: 3.55–4.06 g/100g

• Fructose content: 1.33–1.35 g/100g

• Citric acid: 2.44–2.84 mg/g

• Fruit skin: hard

• Sowing time: April–May

• Shelf life: 6 months

Production zone

The geographical area is the entire territory of the District of Kırkağaç in Manisa province. The Kırkağaç Plain lies within the Bakırçay Basin, the northernmost of four east-west trough areas of the Aegean region. All production steps must take place within this area: seed selection and procurement, soil preparation, planting, irrigation and fertilisation, plant maintenance, and harvesting.

Soil and climate

Melons in Kırkağaç are exclusively cultivated in clayey-calcareous soils. The high clay content causes gradual soil warming and allows the accumulation of available water reserves during winter months, meeting the water needs of the melon plant without irrigation stress through July and August — the months with almost no rainfall in the district. The soil has a water-retention capacity of up to 65–70 cm depth.

Active limestone in the soil accumulates in and strengthens the cellular tissues of the fruit, giving it firmness, resistance to impact, and resistance to vitrescence. This quality, combined with the plump flesh structure, is central to the melon's exceptional shelf life.

The Kırkağaç Plain exhibits a Mediterranean microclimate: mild rainy winters, and hot dry summers with temperatures typically 25–35°C. The months of June, July, and August have the highest number of sunny days (22.2, 24.3, and 24.1 respectively), with minimal rainfall (12.3, 3.7, and 3.6 mm respectively). This high solar exposure directly drives the sweetness of the fruit. The minimal day-to-night temperature differential prevents temperature stress. Meltem winds during summer afternoons and evenings provide a cooling effect that protects against high-temperature cracking — a common defect in other melon varieties absent from Kırkağaç Kavunu grown in its PDO zone.

Harvest and storage

Sowing takes place in April–May, with a ripening period of 90–110 days. Harvesting is carried out in the early morning: fruits are cut from the plant using a knife and arranged in trailers in 2–3 rows, covered with thick blankets to prevent shaking damage during transport to storage. A traditional practice of using dowry quilts for this purpose is documented in the specification.

In storage, each melon is wrapped with string tied lengthwise around all four sides, looped around the stem into a ring shape, and hung on nails in well-ventilated, cool storage areas maintained at 15°C and 80% relative humidity. This technique extends shelf life to six months, allowing the product to remain in market through March.