Seedless Watermelons
Say goodbye to seeds…introducing our Seed-less watermelons!
Skip the pips and try our new variety of watermelon which has small white pips, nearly invisible when eaten…
And no, these small white seeds are not underdeveloped seeds that will grow in your stomach.
Like all fruit, seed-less watermelon cannot reproduce without the need for some seeds but we are talking the large mature black seeds.
So how are Seedless melons grown? Chromosomes are the building blocks that give characteristics, or traits, to living things including plants and watermelons. According to Watermelon Org, breeders discovered that crossing a diploid plant (bearing the standard two sets of chromosomes) with a tetraploid plant (having four sets of chromosomes) results in a fruit that produces a triploid seed. (Yes, it has three sets of chromosomes.) This triploid seed is the seed that produces seedless watermelons.
In other words, a seedless watermelon is a sterile hybrid which is created by crossing male pollen for a watermelon, containing 22 chromosomes per cell, with a female watermelon flower with 44 chromosomes per cell. When this seeded fruit matures, the small, white seeds inside contain 33 chromosomes, rendering it sterile and incapable of producing seeds. And to be clear on the subject, this is not genetic modification. Cross-breeding is two parents and their offspring.
Its interesting to note that seedless watermelon still need to be pollinated by their seeded parent, so often this means growers will plant a mix of seeded and seedless melons in one paddock.
This variety of Watermelon has taken off in the United States and is now a preferred variety by both stores and customers.
New to the New Zealand market, these are becoming more recognized as consumers are exposed to them. Sweeter and firmer in flesh, these rate among the top tasting varieties amongst our team!
Interested in hearing more? Contact one of our team on sales@fieldco.co.nz to find out more.
Source: Watermelon Org, Florida