Watermelons May Be Late, But Just In Time For Summer Holidays

May 17, 1996

GAINESVILLE—Thanks to a very late and extremely cold winter this year, consumers will have to wait a little longer to enjoy the refreshing sensation of a mouthful of that traditional summer treat — the sweet and juicy watermelon.

The highs and lows in the weather patterns of the past two months have slowed watermelon plant growth and may slightly reduce crop yields in Florida and around the United States, said William Watson, executive director of the National Watermelon Promotion Board, which is headquartered in Orlando. Statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture show Florida is ranked number one in the nation in watermelon production, followed by Georgia, Texas and California.

“Florida is a huge player in the watermelon market because our growers produce a large volume very quickly and very early,” Watson said. “The prime months for harvesting in Florida are April through June, so we should be in the middle of it now. But growers are just now beginning to harvest in the southern part of the state.”

University of Florida Professor Don Maynard, a vegetable crops specialist at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Bradenton, said South Florida growers usually begin to pick melons in mid-April, but this year’s watermelon crop will be more than two weeks late for harvesting due to late winter freezes around the state.

“We’ve had terrible spring weather for growing melons,” Maynard said. “Consumers may have to wait a little longer for watermelons this year, but we should at least see an ample supply from the southern part of the state by the Memorial Day holiday.”

Crops in northern and western Florida, which suffered the most damage from late freezes, are even further behind schedule. Some growers had to replant parts of their crops after losing watermelon plants to hard frosts in April. Growers in these areas usually begin to pick melons in mid-May but are finding that their fields won’t be ready until the first week of June. However, consumers will be happy to know that these melons should be readily available for the July Fourth Independence Day celebrations, said Maynard.

Across the country, three billion pounds of watermelon is consumed each year. USDA figures show that in 1995, Florida growers produced 825 million pounds of watermelons on 33,000 harvested acres around the state, Watson said.

Consumer demand for freshcut watermelons, sold in retail markets as halves, slices and chunks, is steadily increasing each year, said Steve Sargent, an associate professor of postharvest physiology in UF/IFAS’ horticultural sciences department. Because freshcut melons are highly perishable and have an average shelf life of one to two days after cutting, the National Watermelon Promotion Board is helping to fund studies by Sargent and other UF/IFAS scientists for improving the handling and packaging methods of freshcut melons and extending their postharvest life. With improved techniques for sanitation, cutting, temperature control and innovative packaging, consumers may soon find freshcut watermelons lasting up to a week longer while still a healthy, affordable and convenient product, Sargent said.

“Right now freshcut watermelons are quite perishable after they’re cut, and what doesn’t sell is taken as a loss by retailers,” Sargent said. “By developing a new series of handling and packaging techniques, growers will see watermelon sales stimulated, retailers will see higher returns and consumers will get convenience in a high quality, more consistent product. Watermelons have lots of vitamin C and no fat, so they fit perfectly into a consumer’s healthy diet. With new packaging methods, people can see exactly what they’re getting, and it will last much longer.”

Seedless watermelon varieties appear to be better suited for freshcut use because they have a longer shelf life than seeded melons. Dennis Gray, a UF/IFAS professor and developmental biologist who develops watermelon varieties at the Central Florida Research and Education Center in Leesburg, said it is the seed maturation in seeded varieties that causes the flesh of watermelons to decline and become pithy. Seedless watermelons also provide growers with a higher yield per acre and are a better tasting, sweeter melon than their seeded counterparts, Gray said.

But these days, consumers will find that the availability of seedless melons is limited in commercial markets, primarily because of the high costs incurred by growers to plant this type of watermelon. Seedless melons are very expensive for growers to plant, with seed for seedless melons averaging $1,200 per pound compared to $20 to $200 per pound for seeded varieties.

However, Gray predicts that within two to three years, consumers will find seedless watermelons to be widely available as UF/IFAS researchers develop ways to reduce costs for growers so more seedless melons can be planted around the state. Gray said research on cell culture for seedless melons is nearly complete, and seed costs should be declining soon to more acceptable levels for growers.

“Seedless watermelons are the wave of the future,” Gray said.