Turns out that they are like mules, self-sterile hybrids and involve a lot of work. Watermelon plants are usually diploid, like us, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, the packages of DNA with instructions for life. Seedless watermelons are triploid. They have three sets of chromosomes. This odd number results in them being sterile and not producing seeds. The way they become triploid is by mating a diploid male with a tetraploid female.
Tetraploids have four sets of chromosomes. The way you get tetraploids is by applying a chemical called colchicine which messes with cells as they are dividing. You add it to diploid seedlings and then some cells become tetraploid. Seedless watermelons have grown in popularity since their development in the early s. According to the University of California Vegetable Research Center, more than half of the watermelons grown in California are seedless.
The fact that they are seedless, raises a question: If seedless watermelons produce no seeds, how do growers grow the next generation of melons? The answer to that question lies in the laboratory where the parents of seedless watermelons begin their lives. Watermelons normally have 22 chromosomes per cell. If you treat a watermelon seedling with colchicine, that seedling will produce watermelons with double the number of chromosomes -- 44 chromosomes per cell.
If you then take a chromosome female watermelon flower and fertilize it with pollen from a chromosome watermelon, you get a triploid, a chromosome watermelon. This hub will help me out so much - a well deserved Hub of the Day! Congrats - voted up and useful! You must have a lot of patience to do this.
Very informative. Thanks for sharing, and congrats on being voted the HOTD. Thank you for the congratulatory comment on this hub, ThePracticalMommy. I hope you and your little guy have as much fun growing your watermelons as we did: Best of luck in your gardening experiment this season. Thank you twilight dream and snlee for your wonderful comments on this hub about growing watermelons for fun.
I hope your personal experiences with growing these fruits will be positive:. Thank you, Deborah, for your kind words and congratulatory message on this hub.
I really appreciate it! What a great hub - so detailed and full of information. Very deserving of Hub of the Day! What a great guide! I will be bookmarking this one for sure. My son and I will add seedless watermelons to the list of things we grow this year.
Congrats on the Hub of the Day! In Malaysia, it's much easier to cultivate watermelon as our climate is hot and wet throughout the year Very interesting information shared here.
Thanks DC. This eggshell idea is very unique, new and also I feel like organic. No wonder this hub is selected for 'Hub of the day'. Keep writing! Hi kelleyward and thanks for taking the time to share your feedback on this hub! Kids really seem to love growing watermelons and it was surprisingly easy: Hope your family enjoys the experiment.
Hi Cardisa, thanks for commenting on this hub! My two guys insist that I pick out the seeds for them, so this was an experiment for my own convenience: I'm glad you liked it, and I'm humbled that it was selected for an award. I'm learning to garden myself so I'll bookmark this for the spring. We love watermelon so this will be a great place to begin for our family.
Congrats on the hub of the day! Thanks for reading and commenting on this hub about growing watermelon, MP I'm glad the information was useful:. Hi Keri, thank you very much! Yes, you can just leave the eggshell planters in the egg carton and transport the whole thing out to the garden patch when you are ready to transplant the seedlings. We just line up several of the cartons on a serving tray and carry them up the hill to the garden:.
Congrats on "Hub of the Day". I couldn't grow watermelons in our climate, but I was pulled in by the fantastic photo looks great in slideshow view. But glad I was because I found your eggshell planter tip, which I will use. I love that they can stay in the original box as well, safely held as they get established.
We can learn something new every day, interesting and useful information. Thanks for sharing voted up. Hi Simone, thanks for reading and commenting on this. If you are really space limited, consider growing them vertically instead of horizontally.
I just published another that tells how to do this:. Wow, this sounds like a lot of fun! Now I just need to figure out where I can develop a garden once the plants get past the seedling stage. Hi, Donna! You know I never really thought about where the seeds would come from if the plants are sterile! Very thought provoking comment. I'm hoping the eggshells work as we have been diligently saving them so I have a nice store for this gardening season. I have to wonder where they get seeds for seedless watermelons.
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