Watermelon Explained

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieties.

Watermelon is grown in favorable climates from tropical to temperate regions worldwide for its large edible fruit, which is a berry with a hard rind and no internal divisions, and is botanically called a pepo. The sweet, juicy flesh is usually deep red to pink, with many black seeds, although seedless varieties exist. The fruit can be eaten raw or pickled, and the rind is edible after cooking. It may also be consumed as a juice or an ingredient in mixed beverages.

Kordofan melons from Sudan are the closest relatives and may be progenitors of modern, cultivated watermelons.^[1] Wild watermelon seeds were found in Uan Muhuggiag, a prehistoric site in Libya that dates to approximately 3500 BC.^[2] In 2022, a study was released that traced 6,000-year-old watermelon seeds found in the Libyan desert to the Egusi seeds of Nigeria, West Africa.^[3] Watermelons were domesticated in north-east Africa and cultivated in Egypt by 2000 BC, although they were not the sweet modern variety. Sweet dessert watermelons spread across the Mediterranean world during Roman times.^[4]

Considerable breeding effort has developed disease-resistant varieties. Many cultivars are available that produce mature fruit within 100 days of planting. In 2017, China produced about two-thirds of the world's total of watermelons.

Description

The watermelon is an annual that has a prostrate or climbing habit. Stems are up to 30NaN0 long and new growth has yellow or brown hairs. Leaves are 60to long and 40to wide. These usually have three lobes that are lobed or doubly lobed. Young growth is densely woolly with yellowish-brown hairs which disappear as the plant ages. Like all but one species in the genus Citrullus, watermelon has branching tendrils. Plants have unisexual male or female flowers that are white or yellow and borne on 40mm hairy stalks. Each flower grows singly in the leaf axils, and the species' sexual system, with male and female flowers produced on each plant, is monoecious. The male flowers predominate at the beginning of the season; the female flowers, which develop later, have inferior ovaries. The styles are united into a single column.

The large fruit is a kind of modified berry called a pepo with a thick rind (exocarp) and fleshy center (mesocarp and endocarp).^[5] Wild plants have fruits up to 20cm (10inches) in diameter, while cultivated varieties may exceed 60cm (20inches). The rind of the fruit is mid- to dark green and usually mottled or striped, and the flesh, containing numerous pips spread throughout the inside, can be red or pink (most commonly), orange, yellow, green or white.^[6]

A bitter watermelon, C. amarus, has become naturalized in semiarid regions of several continents, and is designated as a "pest plant" in parts of Western Australia where they are called "pig melon".^[7]

Taxonomy

The sweet watermelon was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and given the name Cucurbita citrullus. It was reassigned to the genus Citrullus in 1836, under the replacement name Citrullus vulgaris, by the German botanist Heinrich Adolf Schrader. (The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants does not allow names like "Citrullus citrullus".)^[8]

The species is further divided into several varieties, of which bitter wooly melon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai var. lanatus), citron melons (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides (L. H. Bailey) Mansf.), and the edible var. vulgaris may be the most important. This taxonomy originated with the erroneous synonymization of the wooly melon Citrullus lanatus with the sweet watermelon Citrullus vulgaris by L.H. Bailey in 1930.^[9] Molecular data, including sequences from the original collection of Thunberg and other relevant type material, show that the sweet watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris Schrad.) and the bitter wooly melon Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai are not closely related to each other.^[10] A proposal to conserve the name, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai, was accepted by the nomenclature committee and confirmed at the International Botanical Congress in 2017.^[11]

Prior to 2015, the wild species closest to Citrullus lanatus was assumed to be the tendril-less melon Citrullus ecirrhosus Cogn. from South African arid regions based on an erroneously identified 18th-century specimen. However, after phylogenetic analysis, the closest relative to Citrullus lanatus is now thought to be Citrullus mucosospermus (Fursa) from West Africa (from Senegal to Nigeria), which is also sometimes considered a subspecies within C. lanatus.^[12] Watermelon populations from Sudan are also close to domesticated watermelons.^[13] The bitter wooly melon was formally described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1794 and given the name Momordica lanata.^[14] It was reassigned to the genus Citrullus in 1916 by Japanese botanists Jinzō Matsumura and Takenoshin Nakai.^[15]

History

Watermelons were originally cultivated for their high water content and stored to be eaten during dry seasons, as a source of both food and water.^[16] Watermelon seeds were found in the Dead Sea region at the ancient settlements of Bab edh-Dhra and Tel Arad.^[17]

Many 5000-year-old wild watermelon seeds (C. lanatus) were discovered at Uan Muhuggiag, a prehistoric archaeological site located in southwestern Libya. This archaeobotanical discovery may support the possibility that the plant was more widely distributed in the past.^[2]

In the 7th century, watermelons were being cultivated in India, and by the 10th century had reached China. The Moors introduced the fruit into the Iberian Peninsula, and there is evidence of it being cultivated in Córdoba in 961 and also in Seville in 1158. It spread northwards through southern Europe, perhaps limited in its advance by summer temperatures being insufficient for good yields. The fruit had begun appearing in European herbals by 1600, and was widely planted in Europe in the 17th century as a minor garden crop.^[18]

Early watermelons were not sweet, but bitter, with yellowish-white flesh. They were also difficult to open. The modern watermelon, which tastes sweeter and is easier to open, was developed over time through selective breeding.^[19]

European colonists introduced the watermelon to the New World. Spanish settlers were growing it in Florida in 1576. It was being grown in Massachusetts by 1629, and by 1650 was being cultivated in Peru, Brazil and Panama. Around the same time, Native Americans were cultivating the crop in the Mississippi valley and Florida. Watermelons were rapidly accepted in Hawaii and other Pacific islands when they were introduced there by explorers such as Captain James Cook.^[18] In the Civil War era United States, watermelons were commonly grown by free black people and became one symbol for the abolition of slavery.^[20] After the Civil War, black people were maligned for their association with watermelon. The sentiment evolved into a racist stereotype where black people shared a supposed voracious appetite for watermelon, a fruit long associated with laziness and uncleanliness.^[21]

Seedless watermelons were initially developed in 1939 by Japanese scientists who were able to create seedless triploid hybrids which remained rare initially because they did not have sufficient disease resistance.^[22] Seedless watermelons became more popular in the 21st century, rising to nearly 85% of total watermelon sales in the United States in 2014.^[23]

Systematics

A melon from the Kordofan region of Sudan the kordofan melon may be the progenitor of the modern, domesticated watermelon.^[1] The kordofan melon shares with the domestic watermelon loss of the bitterness gene while maintaining a sweet taste, unlike other wild African varieties from other regions, indicating a common origin, possibly cultivated in the Nile Valley by 2340 BC.^[1]

Composition

Nutrition

See also: Watermelon seed oil.

Watermelon fruit is 91% water, contains 6% sugars, and is low in fat (table).^[24]

In a 100g serving, watermelon fruit supplies 125kJ of food energy and low amounts of essential nutrients (see table). Only vitamin C is present in appreciable content at 10% of the Daily Value (table). Watermelon pulp contains carotenoids, including lycopene.^[25]

The amino acid citrulline is produced in watermelon rind.^{[26] [27]}

Varieties

A number of cultivar groups have been identified:^[28]

Citroides group

(syn. C. lanatus subsp. lanatus var. citroides; C. lanatus var. citroides; C. vulgaris var. citroides)^[28]

DNA data reveal that C. lanatus var. citroides Bailey is the same as Thunberg's bitter wooly melon, C. lanatus and also the same as C. amarus Schrad. It is not a form of the sweet watermelon C. vulgaris nor closely related to that species.

The citron melon or makataan – a variety with sweet yellow flesh that is cultivated around the world for fodder and the production of citron peel and pectin.^[29]

Lanatus group

(syn. C. lanatus var. caffer)^[28]

C. caffer Schrad. is a synonym of C. amarus Schrad.

The variety known as tsamma is grown for its juicy white flesh. The variety was an important food source for travellers in the Kalahari Desert.^[29]

Another variety known as karkoer or bitterboela is unpalatable to humans, but the seeds may be eaten.^[29]

A small-fruited form with a bumpy skin has caused poisoning in sheep.^[29]

Vulgaris group

This is Linnaeus's sweet watermelon; it has been grown for human consumption for thousands of years.^[29]

• C. lanatus mucosospermus (Fursa) Fursa

This West African species is the closest wild relative of the watermelon. It is cultivated for cattle feed.^[29]

Additionally, other wild species have bitter fruit containing cucurbitacin.^[30] C. colocynthis (L.) Schrad. ex Eckl. & Zeyh.,C. rehmii De Winter, andC. naudinianus (Sond.) Hook.f.

Varieties

The more than 1,200^[31] cultivars of watermelon range in weight from less than 1frac=4NaNfrac=4 to more than 90kg (200lb); the flesh can be red, pink, orange, yellow or white.^[32]

• The 'Carolina Cross' produced the current world record for heaviest watermelon, weighing 159kg (351lb). It has green skin, red flesh and commonly produces fruit between 65and. It takes about 90 days from planting to harvest.^[33]
• The 'Golden Midget' has a golden rind and pink flesh when ripe, and takes 70 days from planting to harvest.^[34]
• The 'Orangeglo' has a very sweet orange flesh, and is a large, oblong fruit weighing 9–. It has a light green rind with jagged dark green stripes. It takes about 90–100 days from planting to harvest.^[35]
• The 'Moon and Stars' variety was created in 1926.^[36] The rind is purple/black and has many small yellow circles (stars) and one or two large yellow circles (moon). The melon weighs 9–.^[37] The flesh is pink or red and has brown seeds. The foliage is also spotted. The time from planting to harvest is about 90 days.^[38]
• The 'Cream of Saskatchewan' has small, round fruits about 25abbr=onNaNabbr=on in diameter. It has a thin, light and dark green striped rind, and sweet white flesh with black seeds. It can grow well in cool climates. It was originally brought to Saskatchewan, Canada, by Russian immigrants. The melon takes 80–85 days from planting to harvest.^[39]
• The 'Melitopolski' has small, round fruits roughly 28– in diameter. It is an early ripening variety that originated from the Astrakhan region of Russia, an area known for cultivation of watermelons. The Melitopolski watermelons are seen piled high by vendors in Moscow in the summer. This variety takes around 95 days from planting to harvest.^[40]
• The 'Densuke' watermelon has round fruit up to 11kg (24lb). The rind is black with no stripes or spots. It is grown only on the island of Hokkaido, Japan, where up to 10,000 watermelons are produced every year. In June 2008, one of the first harvested watermelons was sold at an auction for 650,000 yen (US$6,300), making it the most expensive watermelon ever sold. The average selling price is generally around 25,000 yen ($250).^[41]
• Many cultivars are no longer grown commercially because of their thick rind, but seeds may be available among home gardeners and specialty seed companies. This thick rind is desirable for making watermelon pickles, and some old cultivars favoured for this purpose include 'Tom Watson', 'Georgia Rattlesnake', and 'Black Diamond'.

Variety improvement

Charles Fredrick Andrus, a horticulturist at the USDA Vegetable Breeding Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina, set out to produce a disease-resistant and wilt-resistant watermelon. The result, in 1954, was "that gray melon from Charleston". Its oblong shape and hard rind made it easy to stack and ship. Its adaptability meant it could be grown over a wide geographical area. It produced high yields and was resistant to the most serious watermelon diseases: anthracnose and fusarium wilt.^[42]

Others were also working on disease-resistant cultivars; J. M. Crall at the University of Florida produced 'Jubilee' in 1963 and C. V. Hall of Kansas State University produced 'Crimson Sweet' the following year. These are no longer grown to any great extent, but their lineage has been further developed into hybrid varieties with higher yields, better flesh quality and attractive appearance. Another objective of plant breeders has been the elimination of the seeds which occur scattered throughout the flesh. This has been achieved through the use of triploid varieties, but these are sterile, and the cost of producing the seed by crossing a tetraploid parent with a normal diploid parent is high.

As of 2017, farmers in approximately 44 states in the United States grew watermelon commercially, producing more than $500 million worth of the fruit annually.^[43] Georgia, Florida, Texas, California and Arizona are the United States' largest watermelon producers, with Florida producing more watermelon than any other state.^{[44] [43]} This now-common fruit is often large enough that groceries often sell half or quarter melons. Some smaller, spherical varieties of watermelon—both red- and yellow-fleshed—are sometimes called "icebox melons".^[45] The largest recorded fruit was grown in Tennessee in 2013 and weighed 159kg (351lb).^[46]

Uses

Culinary

Watermelon is a sweet, commonly consumed fruit of summer, usually as fresh slices, diced in mixed fruit salads, or as juice.^{[47] [48]} Watermelon juice can be blended with other fruit juices or made into wine.^[49]

The seeds have a nutty flavor and can be dried and roasted, or ground into flour.^[6] Watermelon rinds may be eaten, but their unappealing flavor may be overcome by pickling,^[50] sometimes eaten as a vegetable, stir-fried or stewed.^[51]

Citrullis lanatus, variety caffer, grows wild in the Kalahari Desert, where it is known as tsamma.^[6] The fruits are used by the San people and wild animals for both water and nourishment, allowing survival on a diet of tsamma for six weeks.^[6]

Symbolic

The watermelon is used variously as a symbol of Palestinian resistance,^{[52] [53] [54]} of the Kherson region in Ukraine, and of eco-socialism, as in 'green on the outside, red on the inside'. In the United States, it has also been used as a racist stereotype associated with African Americans.^[55]

Cultivation

Watermelons are plants grown from tropical to temperate climates, needing temperatures higher than about to thrive. On a garden scale, seeds are usually sown in pots under cover and transplanted into the ground. Ideal conditions are a well-drained sandy loam with a pH between 5.7 and 7.2.^[56]

Major pests of the watermelon include aphids, fruit flies, and root-knot nematodes. In conditions of high humidity, the plants are prone to plant diseases such as powdery mildew and mosaic virus.^[57] Some varieties often grown in Japan and other parts of the Far East are susceptible to fusarium wilt. Grafting such varieties onto disease-resistant rootstocks offers protection.

The US Department of Agriculture recommends using at least one beehive per acre (1acres per hive) for pollination of conventional, seeded varieties for commercial plantings. Seedless hybrids have sterile pollen. This requires planting pollinizer rows of varieties with viable pollen. Since the supply of viable pollen is reduced, and pollination is much more critical in producing the seedless variety, the recommended number of hives per acre increases to three hives per acre (NaNacres per hive). Watermelons have a longer growing period than other melons and can often take 85 days or more from the time of transplanting for the fruit to mature. Lack of pollen is thought to contribute to "hollow heart" which causes the flesh of the watermelon to develop a large hole, sometimes in an intricate, symmetric shape. Watermelons suffering from hollow heart are safe to consume.^{[58] [59]}

Farmers of the Zentsuji region of Japan found a way to grow cubic watermelons by growing the fruits in metal and glass boxes and making them assume the shape of the receptacle.^[60] The cubic shape was originally designed to make the melons easier to stack and store, but these "square watermelons" may be triple the price of normal ones, so appeal mainly to wealthy urban consumers.^[60] Pyramid-shaped watermelons have also been developed, and any polyhedral shape may potentially be used.^[61]

Watermelons, which are called Khoisan languages: tsamma in Khoisan language and Tswana: makataan in Tswana language, are important water sources in South Africa, the Kalahari desert, and East Africa for both humans and animals.^[62]

Production

In 2020, global production of watermelons was 101.6 million tonnes, with China (mainland) accounting for 60% of the total (60.1 million tonnes).^[63] Secondary producers included Turkey, India, Iran, Algeria and Brazil all having annual production of 2–3 million tonnes in 2020.^[63]

See also

• List of fruits

Further reading

• Dube, J., G. Ddamulira, and M. Maphosa. "Watermelon Production in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities". International Journal of Vegetable Science 27.3 (2021): 211–219.
• Maoto, Makaepea M., Daniso Beswa, and Afam IO Jideani. "Watermelon as a Potential Fruit Snack". International Journal of food properties 22.1 (2019): 355–370.
• Tabiri, Betty, et al. (2016). "Watermelon Seeds as Food: Nutrient Composition, Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Activity". International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences 5:2.

External links

• Watermelon.org from the US National Watermelon Promotion Board

Notes and References

1. Renner . Susanne S. . Wu . Shan . Pérez-Escobar . Oscar A. . Silber . Martina V. . Fei . Zhangjun . Chomicki . Guillaume . A chromosome-level genome of a Kordofan melon illuminates the origin of domesticated watermelons . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 118 . 23 . 2021-05-24 . 0027-8424 . 10.1073/pnas.2101486118 . e2101486118. 34031154 . 8201767 . 2021PNAS..11801486R . free .
2. Wasylikowa . Krystyna . van der Veen . Marijke . An archaeobotanical contribution to the history of watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai (syn. C. vulgaris Schrad.) . Vegetation History and Archaeobotany . 2004 . 13 . 4 . 213–217 . 10.1007/s00334-004-0039-6 . 23419585 . 2004VegHA..13..213W . 129058509 . 14 December 2020 . 0939-6314 . 24 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220324002832/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23419585 . live .
3. Pérez-Escobar . Oscar A. . Tusso . Sergio . Przelomska . Natalia A. S. . Wu . Shan . Ryan . Philippa . Nesbitt . Mark . Silber . Martina V. . Preick . Michaela . Fei . Zhangjun . Hofreiter . Michael . Chomicki . Guillaume . Renner . Susanne S. . 2022-08-03 . Genome Sequencing of up to 6,000-Year-Old Citrullus Seeds Reveals Use of a Bitter-Fleshed Species Prior to Watermelon Domestication . Molecular Biology and Evolution . 39 . 8 . msac168 . 10.1093/molbev/msac168 . 1537-1719 . 9387916 . 35907246.
4. Paris . Harry S. . Origin and emergence of the sweet dessert watermelon, Citrullus lanatus . Annals of Botany . August 2015 . 116 . 2 . 133–148 . 10.1093/aob/mcv077. 26141130 . 4512189.
5. Web site: A Systematic Treatment of Fruit Types. Worldbotanical.com. 7 October 2014. 13 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170713022453/http://www.worldbotanical.com/fruit_types.htm. live.
6. Web site: Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai . South Africa National Biodiversity Institute . 4 October 2014 . 24 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924074427/http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/citrullanat.htm . live .
7. Book: Parsons . William Thomas . Cuthbertson . Eric George . 2001 . Noxious Weeds of Australia . 2nd . Collingwood, Victoria . CSIRO Publishing . 407–408 . 978-0643065147 . 17 April 2014 . 13 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230313192605/https://books.google.com/books?id=sRCrNAQQrpwC&q=wild%20melon%20australia&pg=PA408 . live .
8. Article 23.4 "The specific epithet, with or without the addition of a transcribed symbol, may not exactly repeat the generic name (a designation formed by such repetition is a tautonym)."
9. Bailey LH. 1930. Three discussions in Cucurbitaceae. Gentes Herbarum 2: 175–186.
10. Chomicki, G. . S. S. Renner . Susanne Renner. Watermelon origin solved with molecular phylogenetics including Linnaean material: Another example of museomics . New Phytologist . 10.1111/nph.13163 . 25358433 . 2014 . 205. 2. 526–32. free .
11. Renner, S. S. . Susanne Renner . G. Chomicki . W. Greuter . amp . 2014 . Proposal to conserve the name Momordica lanata (Citrullus lanatus) (watermelon, Cucurbitaceae), with a conserved type, against Citrullus battich . Taxon . 63 . 4 . 941–942 . 10.12705/634.29 . 86896357 .
12. Chomicki, Guillaume & Renner, Susanne S. 2015. Watermelon origin solved with molecular phylogenetics including Linnaean material: Another example of museomics. New Phytologist, 205 (2): 526–532.
13. [Susanne Renner|Renner, S. S.]
14. Web site: Momordica lanata . Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) . . 15 March 2023.
15. Web site: Citrullus lanatus . Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) . . 15 March 2023.
16. Web site: Strauss. Mark. 2015-08-21. The 5,000-Year Secret History of the Watermelon. 2020-10-15. National Geographic News. en. 2020-10-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20201016013417/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/08/150821-watermelon-fruit-history-agriculture/. dead.
17. Book: Amar . Zohar . Arabian Drugs in Medieval Mediterranean Medicine . Edinburgh University Press . 26 August 2019 . 9781474413183 . 5 December 2016 . 13 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230313192553/https://books.google.com/books?id=_jVYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT61 . live .
18. Book: Maynard . David . Maynard . Donald N. . 2012 . Kiple . Kenneth F. . Ornelas . Kriemhild Coneè . Part II, Section C, Chapter 6: Cucumbers, Melons and Watermelons . The Cambridge World History of Food . 2 . Cambridge University Press . 267–270 . 10.1017/CHOL9780521402156 . 978-0-521-40215-6 . 1044500 . 16562324 .
19. News: Understanding the evolution of today's watermelon. Szydlowski. Mike. Columbia Daily Tribune. 18 August 2021. 3 November 2021. 30 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211030053457/https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/lifestyle/2021/08/18/understanding-evolution-todays-watermelon/5536701001/. live.
20. Web site: Black . William R. . How Watermelons Became a Racist Trope . The Atlantic . 8 December 2014 . The Atlantic Monthly Group . 8 March 2020 . 12 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210512185349/https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/ . live .
21. News: Greenlee . Cynthia . On eating watermelon in front of white people: "I'm not as free as I thought" . 29 August 2019 . Vox . 29 August 2019 . 17 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220217001815/https://www.vox.com/first-person/2019/8/29/20836933/watermelon-racist-history-black-people . live .
22. Web site: Production of Seedless Watermelons. US Department of Agriculture. 31 May 2017. 15 June 1971. 27 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160427211006/http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/CAT71326739/PDF. live.
23. Web site: Naeve. Linda. Watermelon. agmrc.org. Agricultural Marketing Resource Center. 31 May 2017. December 2015. 30 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170730193926/http://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/vegetables/watermelon. live.
24. Web site: Watermelon, raw . Nutritional data . Self . 5 October 2014 . 21 July 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170721125508/http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/2072/2 . live .
25. J Agric Food Chem. 2006. 54. 7. 2593–7. Carotenoid content of 50 watermelon cultivars. Perkins-Veazie P . Collins JK . Davis AR . Roberts W . 16569049. 10.1021/jf052066p.
26. J Chromatogr A. 2005. 1078. 1–2. 196–200. Determination of citrulline in watermelon rind. Rimando AM. Perkins-Veazie PM. 16007998. 10.1016/j.chroma.2005.05.009. 29 December 2018. 1 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210501014343/https://naldc-legacy.nal.usda.gov/naldc/download.xhtml?id=37397&content=PDF. dead.
27. News: Associated Press. CBC News – Health – Watermelon the real passion fruit? . CBC . 3 July 2008 . 3 August 2014 . 26 May 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170526202002/http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/watermelon-the-real-passion-fruit-1.764863 . live .
28. Web site: Porcher, Michel H.. Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database. Sorting Citrullus names. 17 October 2013. 12 December 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111212074925/http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Citrullus.html#lanatus-vulgaris-gr. live.
29. Web site: Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai. South Africa National Biodiversity Institute. 17 October 2013. 28 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130528052426/http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/citrullanat.htm. live.
30. Web site: Citrullus lanatus (watermelon). Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew). 17 October 2013. 18 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130618151457/http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Citrullus-lanatus.htm. live.
31. Web site: Vegetable Research & Extension Center – Icebox Watermelons . 2 August 2008 . 7 April 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170407185324/http://agsyst.wsu.edu/Watermelon.html . live .
32. Web site: Watermelon Variety Descriptions . . 2 October 2014 . 6 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141006065530/http://vegetables.wsu.edu/WatermelonPhotos.html . live .
33. Web site: Watermelon growing contest . 2005 . Georgia 4H . The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences . 5 October 2014 . 6 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141006071833/http://georgia4h.org/watermeloncontest/tips.htm . dead .
34. Web site: Golden Midget Watermelon . 5 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071011024524/http://www.seedsavers.org/prodinfo.asp?number=1107 . 11 October 2007 .
35. Web site: Orangeglo Watermelon . 23 April 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927230140/http://www.seedsavers.org/prodinfo.asp?number=1108 . 27 September 2007.
36. Web site: Moon and Stars Watermelon Heirloom . https://web.archive.org/web/20071217100450/http://rareseeds.com/seeds/Watermelon/Moon-and-Stars . 17 December 2007 . rareseeds.com. 15 July 2008.
37. News: Moon & Stars watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) – Seed-spittin' melons makin' a comeback . https://web.archive.org/web/20071013160130/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/07/16/HOG4UDNGDB1.DTL . 13 October 2007 . San Francisco Chronicle. 15 July 2005 . 6 July 2007 . Evans . Lynette.
38. Web site: Moon and Stars Watermelon . 23 April 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070602143014/http://www.seedsavers.org/prodinfo.asp?number=266 . 2 June 2007.
39. Web site: Watermelon, Cream Saskatchewan . https://web.archive.org/web/20090221073205/http://www.seedsavers.org/Details.aspx?itemNo=778 . 21 February 2009 . seedsavers.org.
40. Web site: Melitopolski Watermelon . 23 April 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927230154/http://www.seedsavers.org/prodinfo.asp?number=267 . 27 September 2007.
41. News: Black Japanese watermelon sold at record price . https://web.archive.org/web/20080609032322/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jJBRT0pnOdQVMUzzkKC_cGHo7IdQD914F62O0 . 9 June 2008 . 10 June 2008. Hosaka, Tomoko A.. 6 June 2008. Associated Press.
42. https://web.archive.org/web/20120328100628/http://video.theeagle.com/news/2007/jul/16/watermelon_developer_dies_at10679/?print "Watermelon developer dies at 101"
43. Web site: index : USDA ARS . 2023-06-28 . ars.usda.gov.
44. Web site: Florida produces more watermelon than any other state. 16 July 2019. 6 August 2019. 6 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190806225347/https://www.clickorlando.com/news/florida-produces-more-watermelon-than-any-other-state. live.
45. Web site: Good reasons for icebox melons . 1 May 1985 . The Free Library . Sunset . 4 October 2014 . 20 April 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170420184423/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/403.htm . live .
46. Web site: Heaviest watermelon. 4 October 2013 . Guinness World Records. 2 July 2015. 3 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150703035610/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/heaviest-watermelon. live.
47. Web site: Watermelon. g Marketing Resource Center, US Department of Agriculture, Iowa State University. 9 May 2017. 2017. 30 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170730193926/http://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/vegetables/watermelon. live.
48. Web site: Top 10 ways to enjoy watermelon. Produce for Better Health Foundation, Centers for Disease Control, US National Institutes of Health. 9 May 2017. 2017. 29 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170729190952/http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/top-10-ways-to-enjoy-watermelon. live.
49. 4639538. 2015. Ogodo. A. C.. Production of mixed fruit (pawpaw, banana and watermelon) wine using Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from palm wine. SpringerPlus. 4. 683. Ugbogu. O. C.. Ugbogu. A. E.. Ezeonu. C. S.. 10.1186/s40064-015-1475-8. 26576326 . free .
50. Book: 1 . Todd C. Wehner . Vegetables I . Watermelon . Springer . 2008 . 381–418 . Jaime Prohens and Fernando Nuez. 10.1007/978-0-387-30443-4_12. Handbook of Plant Breeding . 978-0-387-72291-7 .
51. Book: Bryant Terry. Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine. registration. 2009. Da Capo Press. 978-0-7867-4503-6. 46.
52. Web site: Holtermann . Callie . 2023-12-27 . Why the Watermelon Emoji Is a Symbol of Support for Palestinians . 2024-01-05 . The New York Times.
53. News: Watermelon: A slice of Palestinian resistance . Middle East Eye . 17 August 2022 . en.
54. News: Sharon . Jeremy . Activists use watermelons to protest police crackdown on Palestinian flags . The Times of Israel . 21 June 2023.
55. Black . William R. . 2018 . How Watermelons Became Black: Emancipation and the Origins of a Racist Trope . Journal of the Civil War Era . 8 . 1 . 64–86 . 26381503 . 2154-4727.
56. Web site: Watermelon | Land & Water | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | Land & Water | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. fao.org. 20 February 2023. 20 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230220211242/https://www.fao.org/land-water/databases-and-software/crop-information/watermelon/en/. live.
57. Book: The Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening . Brickell . Christopher . 1992 . London . Print . Dorling Kindersley . 978-0-86318-979-1 . 333.
58. Conditions Influencing Hollow Heart Disorder in Triploid Watermelon. Gordon C.. Johnson. Emmalea Garver. Ernest. September 2011. ASHS Annual Conference.
59. Web site: Saving watermelons. Thomas. Adam. 18 June 2015. University of Delaware. 26 June 2020. 29 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200629053748/http://www1.udel.edu/udaily/2015/jun/watermelons-061815.html. live.
60. News: Square fruit stuns Japanese shoppers. BBC News. 15 June 2001. 14 July 2005. 21 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170621172608/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1390088.stm. live.
61. Web site: Square watermelons Japan. English version . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/2JNSpMhJLvg. 2021-10-30. YouTube . 6 November 2013 . 3 August 2014.
62. Book: K . Lim T. . Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants: Volume 2, Fruits . 30 January 2012 . Springer Science & Business Media . 978-94-007-1764-0 . 180–181 . 24 October 2022 . en . 13 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230313192621/https://books.google.com/books?id=4MDEqFGeKVoC&pg=PA180 . live .
63. Web site: Watermelon production in 2020, Crops/Regions/World list/Production Quantity (pick lists) . FAOSTAT . UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Corporate Statistical Database . 20 January 2022 . 12 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161112130804/https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data . live .