Assessment of Triploid Watermelon Cultivars Grown in Georgia for Yield and Quality Parameters
Watermelon is the most important vegetable crop grown during the spring season; therefore, it is imperative that we screen and identify top-performing cultivars for growers. Research experiments were conducted at the University of Georgia, Tifton Vegetable Park Research Farm, during Spring 2022 and...
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American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS)
2025-01-01
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| author | Manisha Kumari Angelos Deltsidis Xuelin Luo Camille McAvoy Theodore McAvoy |
| author_facet | Manisha Kumari Angelos Deltsidis Xuelin Luo Camille McAvoy Theodore McAvoy |
| author_sort | Manisha Kumari |
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| description | Watermelon is the most important vegetable crop grown during the spring season; therefore, it is imperative that we screen and identify top-performing cultivars for growers. Research experiments were conducted at the University of Georgia, Tifton Vegetable Park Research Farm, during Spring 2022 and Spring 2023. The study compared commercially available large seedless watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) cultivars to assess their performance to determine marketable and unmarketable yields, average fruit weight, fruit size distribution, quality parameters, and hollow heart. The six top-yielding cultivars were Excursion, ACX 6177, Miramonte, El Capitan, Sierra Nevada, and Jetski. These high-performing cultivars had total yields that averaged more than 60,000 lb/acre. Of these cultivars, Excursion, Sierra Nevada, and El Capitan had a high percentage of 30/36 count watermelons, whereas cultivars ACX 6177, Miramonte, and Jetski had a large percentage of 45/60 count watermelons. ‘Powerhouse’ and ‘Captivation’ performed the worst, with lower average fruit weights and total yields. In terms of fruit quality, ‘Jetski’, ‘Warrior’, ‘Captivation’, ‘Sierra Nevada’, ‘Embasy’, and ‘Powerhouse’ had the highest soluble solid content among all the cultivars. However, all cultivars had an average soluble solid content of more than 10%, which represented “very good internal quality” according to the US Department of Agriculture standards. ‘Warrior’ and ‘Captivation’ had significantly higher hollow hearts in the fruits compared to those of all other cultivars. In summary, ‘Excursion’, ‘El Capitan’, ‘Miramonte’, ‘Sierra Nevada’, ‘ACX 6177’, and ‘Jetski’ are recommended for commercial cultivation in southern Georgia based on their high yield, sweetness, and low hollow heart incidence, with options available for growers based on desired fruit size distribution, rind color, and fruit shape, whereas ‘Warrior’, ‘Powerhouse’ and ‘Captivation’ performed poorly in terms of yield and/or hollow heart vulnerability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ac77e46b3ddd48cfbfd87c82f3d20dbb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1943-7714 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) |
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| series | HortTechnology |
| spelling | doaj-art-ac77e46b3ddd48cfbfd87c82f3d20dbb2025-01-13T16:56:51ZengAmerican Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS)HortTechnology1943-77142025-01-01351https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH05561-24Assessment of Triploid Watermelon Cultivars Grown in Georgia for Yield and Quality ParametersManisha Kumari0Angelos Deltsidis1Xuelin Luo2Camille McAvoy3Theodore McAvoy4Department of Horticulture, University of GeorgiaDepartment of Horticulture, University of GeorgiaExperimental Statistics, University of GeorgiaSchool of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tifton, GADepartment of Horticulture, University of GeorgiaWatermelon is the most important vegetable crop grown during the spring season; therefore, it is imperative that we screen and identify top-performing cultivars for growers. Research experiments were conducted at the University of Georgia, Tifton Vegetable Park Research Farm, during Spring 2022 and Spring 2023. The study compared commercially available large seedless watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) cultivars to assess their performance to determine marketable and unmarketable yields, average fruit weight, fruit size distribution, quality parameters, and hollow heart. The six top-yielding cultivars were Excursion, ACX 6177, Miramonte, El Capitan, Sierra Nevada, and Jetski. These high-performing cultivars had total yields that averaged more than 60,000 lb/acre. Of these cultivars, Excursion, Sierra Nevada, and El Capitan had a high percentage of 30/36 count watermelons, whereas cultivars ACX 6177, Miramonte, and Jetski had a large percentage of 45/60 count watermelons. ‘Powerhouse’ and ‘Captivation’ performed the worst, with lower average fruit weights and total yields. In terms of fruit quality, ‘Jetski’, ‘Warrior’, ‘Captivation’, ‘Sierra Nevada’, ‘Embasy’, and ‘Powerhouse’ had the highest soluble solid content among all the cultivars. However, all cultivars had an average soluble solid content of more than 10%, which represented “very good internal quality” according to the US Department of Agriculture standards. ‘Warrior’ and ‘Captivation’ had significantly higher hollow hearts in the fruits compared to those of all other cultivars. In summary, ‘Excursion’, ‘El Capitan’, ‘Miramonte’, ‘Sierra Nevada’, ‘ACX 6177’, and ‘Jetski’ are recommended for commercial cultivation in southern Georgia based on their high yield, sweetness, and low hollow heart incidence, with options available for growers based on desired fruit size distribution, rind color, and fruit shape, whereas ‘Warrior’, ‘Powerhouse’ and ‘Captivation’ performed poorly in terms of yield and/or hollow heart vulnerability.https://journals.ashs.org/horttech/view/journals/horttech/35/1/article-p81.xmlcitrullus lanatusfruit countmarketable yieldseedless watermelonsoluble solids |
| spellingShingle | Manisha Kumari Angelos Deltsidis Xuelin Luo Camille McAvoy Theodore McAvoy Assessment of Triploid Watermelon Cultivars Grown in Georgia for Yield and Quality Parameters HortTechnology citrullus lanatus fruit count marketable yield seedless watermelon soluble solids |
| title | Assessment of Triploid Watermelon Cultivars Grown in Georgia for Yield and Quality Parameters |
| title_full | Assessment of Triploid Watermelon Cultivars Grown in Georgia for Yield and Quality Parameters |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of Triploid Watermelon Cultivars Grown in Georgia for Yield and Quality Parameters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of Triploid Watermelon Cultivars Grown in Georgia for Yield and Quality Parameters |
| title_short | Assessment of Triploid Watermelon Cultivars Grown in Georgia for Yield and Quality Parameters |
| title_sort | assessment of triploid watermelon cultivars grown in georgia for yield and quality parameters |
| topic | citrullus lanatus fruit count marketable yield seedless watermelon soluble solids |
| url | https://journals.ashs.org/horttech/view/journals/horttech/35/1/article-p81.xml |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT manishakumari assessmentoftriploidwatermeloncultivarsgrowningeorgiaforyieldandqualityparameters AT angelosdeltsidis assessmentoftriploidwatermeloncultivarsgrowningeorgiaforyieldandqualityparameters AT xuelinluo assessmentoftriploidwatermeloncultivarsgrowningeorgiaforyieldandqualityparameters AT camillemcavoy assessmentoftriploidwatermeloncultivarsgrowningeorgiaforyieldandqualityparameters AT theodoremcavoy assessmentoftriploidwatermeloncultivarsgrowningeorgiaforyieldandqualityparameters |