Oakes Irrigation
Research
Site
Carrington Research Extension Center * North Dakota State
University
P.O. Box 531, Oakes, ND 58474-0531, Voice: (701) 742-2189, FAX:
(701)
742-2700, E-mail: Leonard.Besemann@ndsu.edu
SEEDLESS
WATERMELON VARIETY PERFORMANCE TRIAL
Richard Greenland, Leonard Besemann and Heidi Eslinger
Table 49. Number and yield of watermelon in the seedless watermelon hybrid performance trial
Table 50. Size and quality characteristics in the seedless watermelon hybrid performance trial
Watermelon generally do well in North Dakota. In this trial we evaluated twelve seedless varieties.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
|
Soil: |
Maddock sandy loam, Embden sandy loam and Hecla sandy loam; pH=6.9; 2.3% organic matter; soil-P and soil-K was very high; soil-S was low. |
|
Previous crops: |
2004 - field corn; 2003 - sweet corn; 2002 - carrot and potato. |
|
Seedbed preparation: |
Chisel plow on April 14. Disked on May 6. Multiweeded (field cultivated) on June 2 to smooth seedbed and to incorporate fertilizer. |
|
Planting |
Melons were seeded in the greenhouse on April 15. Plants were hand transplanted on June 2 with two foot in row spacing. Crimson Sweet and Sugar baby (seeded varieties)were also transplanted every two rows as pollinators. |
|
Plots: |
Plots were 17 ft long by 8 ft (one row) wide. |
|
Fertilizer: |
On April 15, broadcast 26 lbs N/acre and 30 lbs S/acre as 21-0-0-24. Fertigate 40 lbs N/acre on June 18 and 50 lbs N/acre on July 7 as 28-0-0. |
|
Irrigation: |
Overhead sprinkler irrigation as needed. |
|
Pest control: |
Weeds were controlled by rototilling and by hand weeding. Sprayed Ambush (8 oz/acre on July 5), and Asana (8 oz/acre on July 27) to control cucumber beetle. |
|
Harvest: |
Hand harvested August 22 to September 22. |
Most of the varieties tested scored well. Buttercup and Harmony had the highest yields. Buttercup, Imagination and Ruby had the best flavor and Buttercup scored highest on the Brix score.
Go to top of watermelon variety performance trial
Table 49. Number and yield of watermelon in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2005 seedless watermelon hybrid performance trial.
|
Hybrid |
Seed source1 |
Days to harvest |
Harvest spread |
Yield |
Number of melons |
Lenght/ diameter ratio |
shape2 |
Degree seedless3 |
||
|
marketable |
total |
marketable |
total |
|||||||
|
|
-------days------ |
------tons/acre----- |
----1000s/acre---- |
|
1 to 3 |
1 to 3 |
||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
402 Seedless |
SW |
92 |
24 |
7.6 |
7.9 |
2.9 |
3.2 |
1.1 |
1.6 |
2.3 |
|
4502 Seedless |
SW |
85 |
7 |
4.5 |
5.3 |
1.8 |
2.4 |
1.1 |
1.3 |
2.5 |
|
Buttercup |
SW |
99 |
31 |
12.8 |
13.3 |
3.3 |
3.6 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
2.5 |
|
Gypsy |
HR |
85 |
10 |
6.1 |
6.4 |
1.9 |
2.0 |
1.1 |
1.4 |
2.4 |
|
Harmony |
SW |
98 |
32 |
12.8 |
13.1 |
3.1 |
3.3 |
1.1 |
1.6 |
2.5 |
|
Imagination |
RG |
92 |
18 |
6.4 |
6.6 |
2.4 |
2.7 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
2.2 |
|
Lamar |
HL |
88 |
14 |
5.8 |
6.1 |
2.4 |
2.6 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
1.9 |
|
Millenium |
HR |
84 |
10 |
4.8 |
5.3 |
2.1 |
2.4 |
1.2 |
2.0 |
2.5 |
|
Palomar |
RG |
92 |
19 |
7.2 |
7.4 |
2.3 |
2.5 |
1.1 |
1.3 |
2.1 |
|
RTW 8145 |
RG |
90 |
26 |
8.3 |
9.4 |
2.2 |
2.7 |
1.5 |
2.8 |
2.2 |
|
Ruby |
HL |
88 |
16 |
6.3 |
6.7 |
2.3 |
2.7 |
1.1 |
1.5 |
2.2 |
|
Sweet Delight |
RG |
91 |
16 |
5.9 |
6.8 |
2.2 |
2.9 |
1.2 |
2.0 |
2.3 |
|
|
||||||||||
|
CV (%) |
4 |
42 |
30 |
27 |
28 |
25 |
4 |
17 |
10 |
|
|
Probability |
0.0001 |
0.002 |
0.0001 |
<0.0001 |
0.11 |
0.25 |
<0.0001 |
<0.0001 |
0.23 |
|
1See Appendix A for a list of seed sources.
2Shape (1 to 3): 1 = round; 2 = oval; 3 = oblong.
3Degree of seedless (1 to 3): 1=brown or black seeds present, 2=white seeds present, 3=no seeds present.
Go to top of watermelon variety performance trial
Table 50. Size and quality characteristics in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2005 seedless watermelon hybrid performance trial.
Hybrid |
Seed source1 |
Hollow Heart2 |
Rind thickness |
Average wt/fruit |
diameter |
lenght |
Uniformity3 |
Overall |
flavor4 |
Brix score5 |
|
|
|
1 to 2 |
cm |
lbs |
-----inches----- |
|
|
1 to 5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
402 Seedless |
SW |
1.8 |
1.2 |
5.4 |
6.4 |
7.2 |
2.0 |
7.8 |
3.9 |
10.8 |
|
4502 Seedless |
SW |
2.0 |
1.3 |
4.8 |
6.4 |
6.8 |
2.0 |
7.6 |
3.8 |
10.8 |
|
Buttercup |
SW |
1.9 |
1.4 |
7.9 |
7.8 |
7.7 |
2.1 |
8.1 |
4.7 |
11.3 |
|
Gypsy |
HR |
2.0 |
1.2 |
6.3 |
6.7 |
7.2 |
2.3 |
7.7 |
4.1 |
10.5 |
|
Harmony |
SW |
1.8 |
1.6 |
8.3 |
7.2 |
8.3 |
2.1 |
8.0 |
4.6 |
10.9 |
|
Imagination |
RG |
1.8 |
1.3 |
5.1 |
6.2 |
6.4 |
2.0 |
8.0 |
4.7 |
11.0 |
|
Lamar |
HL |
2.0 |
1.4 |
5.2 |
6.3 |
6.4 |
2.1 |
8.0 |
4.3 |
10.3 |
|
Millenium |
HR |
2.0 |
1.3 |
4.4 |
6.0 |
7.0 |
1.9 |
8.0 |
4.4 |
11.0 |
|
Palomar |
RG |
2.0 |
1.2 |
6.4 |
6.7 |
7.1 |
2.2 |
8.0 |
4.6 |
10.8 |
|
RTW 8145 |
RG |
1.9 |
1.5 |
7.7 |
6.7 |
9.8 |
1.8 |
7.7 |
4.5 |
10.3 |
|
Ruby |
HL |
1.9 |
1.4 |
5.5 |
6.5 |
7.3 |
2.1 |
8.0 |
4.7 |
10.8 |
|
Sweet Delight |
RG |
2.0 |
1.3 |
5.5 |
6.6 |
7.6 |
2.0 |
7.7 |
4.5 |
10.9 |
|
|
||||||||||
|
CV (%) |
8 |
11 |
20 |
6 |
8 |
14 |
5 |
9 |
5 |
|
|
Probability |
0.54 |
0.03 |
0.0014 |
0.0002 |
<0.0001 |
0.74 |
0.78 |
0.06 |
0.66 |
|
1See Appendix A for a list of seed sources.
2Hollow heart: 1 = hollow, 2 = no hollow heart.
3Uniformity (1 to 3): 1=lacks uniformity/variable, 2=average, 3=very uniform.
4Flavor (1 to 5) 1 = very poor, 3 = acceptable, 5 = excellent.
5The Brix score is a measure of the soluble solids and is usually related to sweetness; higher Brix equals sweeter.
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