Climate smart Kalahari melon (Citrullus lanatus): understanding its seeds hydration kinetics

Abstract

With elevated temperatures on the rise due to climate change, can lessons be learnt from Kalahari melon seeds (KMS) that grow and contribute to the food security of communities in the arid Kalahari desert? Specifically, what are the hydration kinetics of climate-smart KMS that naturally grow in an arid environment? This study investigated, for the first time, the water hydration kinetics of differently (grey, black, white) coloured KMS at 25, 35 and 45°C. No lag behaviour was observed. The Peleg model fit suitably (R 2 > 0.99) to the empirical water uptake data, characterised by a time-linear water absorption, and then a slower rate occurred after the initial 15 min of hydration. The K 1 Peleg constants were statistically the same for the grey and black KMS. Besides being useful in process design, these data can be used as baseline information for the identification of candidate nutrient-rich future climate-smart crops that can thrive in elevated temperature situations to mitigate the effects of climate change on food security.