There’s nothing like a sweet succulent watermelon to be enjoyed under the summer sun, though the fruit is usually a bit heavy to carry.

One farmer from Neo Agioneri in Kilkis, northern Greece, has produced mini melons, which he jokes “fit into a woman’s evening bag, since some are slightly larger than a lipstick” as they can range in size from a walnut to a tennis ball and weigh no heavier than 200 kg.

Grower Panagiotis Yiltidis first began to cultivate the pocket-sized watermelons after an older man in Israel sent him the seeds.

“The people there are devoted to cultivating watermelons and melons, and I was initially doubtful when I tried it,” Mr Yiltidis told the Athens Macedonian News Agency radio station Praktoreio 104.9 FM.

On the outside they look like watermelons, but they are soft and juice on the inside with seeds found in the middle just as they are in regular-sized melons.

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Panagiotis Yiltidis has a watermelon in his pocket. Photo: AMNA

“A few days ago I had collected nearly 20 mini melons and was delivering something else in a restaurant of Halkidiki peninsula. I showed them to the owner and he became enthusiastic about them, as did a store owner selling organic products next door,” the farmer said.

Mr Yiltidis, also known for cultivating crops to the sounds of classical music and has also become the focus of researchers from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, said he enjoys experimenting with his produce while looking for new seeds.

In the case of the mini melons, he said that they are not profitable due to the crops needs of extensive foliage to produce a tiny melon of around 150 grams.

Greeks are particularly fond of watermelon, considered a summer staple. There are 204.45 million kilos of watermelon produced in the country per annum, which corresponds to 5.6 per cent of total exports.

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Panagiotis Yiltidis from Kilkis and his pocket-sized watermelons. Photo: AMNA

How to choose a watermelon

To choose a normal-sized watermelon (or otherwise) there are three simple rules: Look, Lift and Turn.
1. Look to ensure that the watermelon is firm and free from bruises, cuts or dents.
2. Lift the watermelon which should be heavy for its size bearing in mind the 92 per cent water it contains.
3. Turn the watermelon to find its yellow spot on the underside where it sat on the ground as it ripened in the sun.