Southeastern U.S. Vegetable Crop Handbook - 2022 - 131

cial pollenizer and fruit from the seedless watermelon varieties.
Most fruit of the special pollenizer is much smaller (< 10 lbs)
than fruit produced by seedless. If mini-seedless watermelons
are planted, the rind pattern of both mini-seedless fruit and special
pollenizer fruit will need to be easy to distinguish. Pollenizers
found to work well in the southeast include:
AL GA KY LA MS NC SC TN VA
Pollenizers for Triploid Watermelon
Edible Diploids
Mickey Lee MS
Nunhems 800
Stargazer
Estrella
Crimson Sweet
Regency
Sangria A,IR
A G K
A
A G
A
A
A
A
Special Pollenizer (Non-edible)
Accomplice
Ace S
Jenny
Minipol
SideKick
SP-6 A,IR
SP-7 A, IR, PM
Wild Card S
A
MS
IR
S
M N S
K L M N S
S
K
K
K L
A G K
A G
A G
A G
A G K
A G K
A G
A G
Anthracnose tolerance/resistance.
Moderately susceptible to Fusarium wilt race 1.
Intermediate resistance to Fusarium wilt race 1.
PM
Susceptible to Fusarium wilt race 1.
Powdery mildew tolerance/resistance.
Be sure to follow the seed suppliers' instructions when using
a special pollenizer. New, improved specialized pollenizer
varieties are continually being developed with better germination,
flowering habit, and/or disease resistances/tolerances. Do
not plant your pollenizer variety and seedless (triploid) varieties
in separate or adjacent blocks. Plant your pollenizer variety
within 10 to 15 feet of triploid varieties to assure good
pollination. Specialized pollenizer varieties should be placed
within 10 feet of triploids as these varieties tend to have less
aggressive vining than normal seeded pollenizers.
It is important that pollen from the diploid pollenizer variety
be available when the female blossoms on the triploid plants
are open and ready for pollination. As a rule, the pollenizer
variety should be seeded on the same day that the triploid seed
is seeded in the greenhouse. Some of the special pollenizer are
slow to germinate; consequently, they might need to be planted
earlier than the seedless. Check with your seed supplier for the
grow out vigor of your special pollenizer.
Honeybees are important for high fruit yields and quality.
Populations of pollinating insects may be adversely affected by
insecticides applied to flowers or weeds in bloom. Apply insecticides
only when bees are not foraging in the evening hours or
wait until bloom is completed before application. See section on
" Pollination " in the General Production Recommendations for
further information.
M N S
M N S
M N S
M N S
M N S
N S T
N
M N S
M N
M N
V
V
V
V
V
V
WATERMELON PLANTING DATES
AL North
AL South
AR North
AR South
GA North
GA South
KY East
KY Central
KY West
LA North
LA South
5/15-6/15
3/1-6/30
5/15-6/20
4/15-6/15
5/15-6/15
3/1-6/30
5/15-6/15
5/5-7/1
4/20-7/15
3/10-6/30
3/1-7/5
MS North
MS South
NC East
NC West
OK
4/15-5/15
2/15-5/1
4/15-6/30
5/25-6/30
5/1-6/1
SC East
SC West
TN East
TN West
VA East (coastal)
VA West (mountain)
4/1-7/31
4/15-6/15
5/5-6/30
4/25-5/30
4/10-7/30
4/20-7/20
Drip Fertilization and Mulching. Before mulching, adjust soil
pH to 6.5, and in the absence of a soil test, apply enough fertilizer
to supply 50 pounds per acre of N, P2
will require 100 pounds per acre of K2
O5 and K2
porate into the soil.
V
After mulching and installing the drip irrigation system, the
soluble fertilizer program should then be initiated according to
that described in the following table.
V
On soils testing low to low-medium boron, also include
0.5 pound per acre of actual boron. The first soluble fertilizer
application should be applied through the drip irrigation system
within a week after field transplanting or direct-seeding the watermelons.
Continue fertigating until the last harvest.
SUGGESTED FERTIGATION SCHEDULE
FOR WATERMELONS*
Daily
Growth Stage 1
Preplant
Planting to Vining
Vining to
Flowering
Flowering to
Fruit Set
Fruit Set to
Initial Ripening
Harvest
0 - 14
15 - 28
29 - 49
50 - 77
78 - 91
* Adjust based on tissue analysis.
1
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
1.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
1.0
Days after
planting
nitrogen
Daily
potash
Cumulative
nitrogen potash
(lb/A)
35.0
42.0
56.0
86.0
140.0
153.0
35.0
42.0
56.0
86.0
140.0
153.0
Growth Stage can vary from season to season. For optimal results, fertigate
watermelons based on their growth stage as opposed to days after planting.
MINI SEEDLESS WATERMELON
The mini seedless watermelon was introduced in 2003 and the
demand for this product is year around. These fruit generally
range from 3 to 7 pounds and offer an attractive alternative for
the consumer that has limited refrigerator space or a small family.
Mini seedless watermelon fruit must be handled carefully to
minimize bruising. Some varieties of mini seedless watermelons
are grown under specific labels such as " PureHeart " but are only
available under a contract basis. The varieties Extazy, Leopard,
Mielheart, and Sweet Bite are readily available to watermelon
producers and are recommended for production in certain states.
These varieties have performed well commercially or in University
trials.
2022 Vegetable Crop Handbook for Southeastern United States
131
O, (some soils
O) then thoroughly incor
Southeastern U.S. Vegetable Crop Handbook - 2022

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