How are triploid watermelons produced?
Seedless watermelons are triploid (3X) which causes them to be sterile, or seedless. The triploid seeds are created by crossing a normal diploid (2X) melon as the pollinator with a tetraploid (4X) parent. Each parent contributes half its respective chromosomes, 1X from one parent and 2X from the other.
How do you increase watermelon fruit size?
To maximize the size of the melon, water the plants regularly in deep water sessions that keep the soil moist. Side dress the Watermelon plants with fertilizer prepared for edible crops or fertilizer tea to feed the plants. Fertilizer encourages growth to produce large melons.
How many types of varieties of watermelon are there?
Watermelon Types More than 300 varieties of watermelon are cultivated in the United States and South America, where complementary growing seasons provide a year-round supply of watermelon in an array of shapes, colors and sizes.
Can you grow different varieties of watermelon together?
Different varieties of watermelon, however, will cross-pollinate with each other. If you’re growing more than one type of watermelon, such as seedless ones beside the typical seeded ones, be prepared for the fruit to be mixed between the two types of vines as the bees spread pollen between the plant types.
Why is a triploid watermelon sterile?
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.
What is triploid?
Triploidy is a rare chromosomal abnormality. Triploidy is the presence of an additional set of chromosomes in the cell for a total of 69 chromosomes rather than the normal 46 chromosomes per cell. The extra set of chromosomes originates either from the father or the mother during fertilization.
Which fertilizer is best for watermelon?
When fertilizing watermelon plants, use nitrogen based fertilizer at the onset. Once the plant begins flowering, however, switch to feeding the watermelon a phosphorus and potassium based fertilizer. Watermelons require ample potassium and phosphorus for optimal melon production.
How do you use NPK on watermelon?
For watermelons, apply a fertilizer high in phosphorous, such as 10-10-10, at a rate of 4 pounds per 1,000 square feet (60 to 90 feet of row). Make a trench on the planting bed 4 to 6 inches deep and 2 inches from the side of the row. Cover the fertilizer and plant so seeds do not touch the fertilizer.
What is an orange watermelon?
Orange watermelon is a colored cultivar of the Citrullus lanatus but is quite similar to traditional watermelons in size, sweetness, appearance, and texture. The difference in color is primarily due to the concentration of pigment cells, such as lycopene and beta-carotene.
What cross pollinates with watermelon?
Natural pollination of watermelons in the field is usually by honeybees that visit the flower to collect pollen and nectar. Bumblebees also are effective pollinators.
How many chromosomes does a triploid watermelon have?
The resulting hybrid is a triploid (2n=3x=33). Triploid plants have three sets of chromosomes, and three sets cannot be divided evenly during meiosis (the cell division process that produces the gametes). This results in non-functional female and male gametes although the flowers appear normal.
How are triploid plants produced?
Formation of triploid plants Errors occur sometimes during meiosis in regular diploid plants and chromosomes fail to segregate properly to the daughter cells. Such an unreduced 2n gamete can unite with a normal, haploid gamete, resulting in a triploid zygote that may develop into a triploid plant.
How do you apply NPK fertilizer to watermelon?
Which is the best fertilizer for watermelon?
For watermelon plants, using nitrogen based fertilizers at the onset is a good idea. Once the melon plants start flowering, however, you should switch to feeding the watermelon a phosphorus and potassium based fertilizer. Watermelons need ample potassium and phosphorus for optimal melon production.
How do you grow an orange watermelon?
Before Planting: A light, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.5–7.5 and a southern exposure is ideal. Planting: For direct seeding, sow 1–2 weeks after last frost when soil is warm, above 70°F, 3 seeds every 18–36″, 1″ deep. Watering: When they are younger, watermelon plants require lots up water, up to 2 inches per week.
Where do orange watermelons come from?
Yellow, orange, and even white watermelons are not as unusual as you may think. All of these colors appear in early botanical works dealing with melons, and color variations are rampant in southern Africa (where the watermelon is thought to have originated).