James E. Boudreaux and Alan Fuller1, Randall K. Bellon2, Keith Hawkins3, Denyse B. Cummins4 and David Yount Jr.5
1Professor and Student Worker, LSU School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences, Baton Rouge, La., 2County Agent, Allen Parish, Oberlin, La., 3 Assistant Area Extension Agent, Forestry, Beauregard Parish, DeRidder, La., 4Associate Agent, Horticulture Northwest Region, Shreveport, La., 5Assistant County Agent, Red River Parish, Coushatta, La.
Watermelons are one of the leading vegetable crops planted in Louisiana with 277 growers planting 3,265 acres with a farm value of $6.6 million. The crop is sold to local grocery stores, peddlers and at roadside stands throughout the state. The majority of the watermelon acreage is planted to seeded melons. Louisiana growers want varieties that produce large, 20- to 30-pound, light green melons with a dark green stripe (Jubilee type) and a blocky shape. They want melons with good foliage that does not sunburn, with a medium-thick rind (to withstand shipping), bright red flesh with small black seeds that fill the seed cavity (does not look overripe when cut) and high-soluble solids.
The trend in variety development today is to dark green melons with a light green stripe. Only minimum efforts are made by the large seed companies on the development of Jubilee-type melons. The seed companies were asked for samples of their top-selling varieties.
Eighteen varieties of watermelons were planted at Chuck Melsheimer Farms in Reeves, La., and Scott Ryan Farms in Dixie, La., and Anderson Produce in Coushatta, La. The varieties included nine dark green varieties with a light green stripe and nine light green varieties with a dark green stripe. The plots were established by transplanting on black plastic mulch. The plots at Ryan Farms in Dixie and Anderson Produce in Coushatta employed drip irrigation.
The melons were evaluated for yield, shape, weight of melons, foliage, degree of sun burning, rind color, rind thickness, flesh color, seed color, seed size , size of seed cavity and soluble solids.
The top light green with dark green stripes melon variety in the test was Summer Flavor 710.
This variety has been a grower favorite for a number of years. It had good yields of 20- to 25-pound, blocky-shape melons with fair to good foliage with a minimum amount of sun burning. The rind was of medium thickness with red flesh, medium-large-size seeds in a medium-large seed cavity.
The varieties Juliett and Stars and Stripes were tied for second. Juliett from Rogers/Syngenta had the best yields of the test. It made 20- to 30-pound, elongated, light green melons with dark green stripes. The melons had a medium rind thickness with bright red flesh. The seeds were black, medium-large in size in a medium-size seed cavity.
Stars and Stripes (Seminis) had good yields of 20- to 25-pound melons with good foliage and a medium-thick rind with a bright red flesh. The medium-size brown/black mottled seeds were in a medium-size seed cavity. It was one of the top varieties the last time we conducted a watermelon variety demonstration plot in 2005.
Dumara from Nunhems was the overall top melon in the test. It made good yields of dark green, blocky-shape melon with a light green stripe. The melons were 22 to 30 pounds with excellent foliage, low degree of sun burning, medium-thick rind, red flesh and small black seeds with 13.5 percent soluble solids.
The dark green varieties Escarlette (Rogers/Syngenta) and Jamboree (Rogers/Syngenta) were tied for second place. Escarlette from Rogers/Syngenta made good yields of blocky, oblong, 20- to 25-pound melons with excellent foliage. It had a medium-thick rind and bright red flesh with small black seeds.
Jamboree from Rogers/Syngenta made good yields of 20- to 22-pound, blocky, oblong melons with excellent foliage and no sun burning. The rind was medium-thick with a bright red flesh with medium black seed in a medium seed cavity. It was also one of the top varieties in the 2005 watermelon variety demonstration plot.
Growers are encouraged to try these varieties on a small scale to see how they perform under the conditions of their farms before making large planting of these varieties.