WATERMELON CULTIVAR EVALUATIONS

Abstract

Forty-one watermelon cultivars were compared for yield and fruit size. Fields were prepared with raised beds 1 m wide covered with black plastic and equipped with drip irrigation. Plots were 2.7 m wide × 15.2 m long, with 10 plants being spaced 2.7 m apart in the row, and the remaining 6.1 m of each plot being used as a buffer zone. There were 4 replications of each plot, arranged as a randomized complete block. Seeds were placed in pre-moistened Jiffy-9 pellets in a greenhouse on 16 June 2003. Germinated seedlings were transplanted to the field on June 30. There were 27 triploid cultivars grown, with an average yield of 34.3 t·ha–1, and 14 diploid cultivars grown, also with an average of 34.3 t·ha–1. The three highest yielding diploids were `Gold Strike' with 51.7 t·ha–1, `Jamboree' with 44.8 t·ha–1, and `Dulce'with 43.0 t·ha–1. The three highest yielding triploids were `Sweet Slice' with 49.1 t·ha–1, `Sweet Delight' with 46.6 t·ha–1, and `Samba' with 45.0 t·ha–1. Small, personal sized melons are gaining popularity in the markets, and several small sized cultivars were included in this study. The cultivars with the smallest fruit, and their average fruit sizes, were `HA 5133', 2.6 kg; `HA 6007', 2.7 kg; `HA 5109', 2.8 kg; `Minipol', 3.0 kg; `WD-02-05', 3.4 kg; `HA 6008', 3.4 kg; `HSR 2920', 3.5 kg; `HA 6009], 3.7 kg; `HA 5116', 3.7 kg; and `WT-03-05', 4.2 kg.