Abstract

The 2006 watermelon cultivar trial evaluated 12 entrants, including several described as seedless Sugar Baby types, with the objective of identifying good quality cultivars that have distinctive characteristics suited for local marketing. Historically, Sugar Baby has been a popular cultivar for this market segment because of its earliness, attractive blackish green rind color, and convenient size. And when hybrids like Jade Star became available many growers switched because it looked similar to Sugar Baby but had improved yield,shelf life, and eating quality. Now we find consumer preference shifting toward seedless watermelons and to remain competitive in the market place growers need to be changing too. These trial results provide information on several seedless cultivars with characteristics that favor specific markets.

How to Cite:

Lawson, V., (2007) “Watermelon Cultivar Trial—2006”, Iowa State University Research and Demonstration Farms Progress Reports 2006(1).