Watermelons as Food in the 22 Century

Child Eating Watermelon

Watermelons Citrullus lanatus  (Thumb.) Mansf. were reported to be growing in Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, Mediterranean Coasts, Europe and America in the late 1500s. Growth spread to Japan from South China and Southeast Asia. Fruits were basic food for people and animals in these countries, however the fruits bore little resemblance to current cultivars in size, shape, color and internal food qualities. Since reproduction in watermelon and other species of cucurbits is monoecious, which means they are largely cross-pollinated, populations developed that were very hetrozygous. Selective plant breeding was not in practice at that time so germ plasm was highly diverse.
When world travel by traders became more common seeds were distributed as a food crop, especially in warmer climates. Watermelons were reportedly being grown in the USA in the 1600s. In the warmer climates they are grown on lighter soils as warm season crops as dessert fruits and the rinds were used for making pickles and preserves. Also, some types were used as animal feed. As they became more commercialized, plant th selection and breeding began to develop in the 19 century. As cultivation spread diseases became more of a problem, especially Fusarium wilt which is a soil borne disease. In 1908 Orton, a USDA scientist released Conqueror as the first wilt resistant variety using a stock citron as a source of resistance. Between 1932 and1938 Porter, Wilson and Younkin released 6 wilt resistant varieties from Iowa State College. By that time Florida and California were breeding wilt resistant varieties. However, during this period, market acceptance, edible quality and long distance shipping had not become the primary focus of breeding programs.
By the 1940s breeders became focused toward shipping quality, consumer acceptance and anthracnose resistance. In 1946 C.F. Andrus, an USDA breeder had developed and released Congo with combined Fusarium wilt and anthracnose resistance, but in many cases the fruits were badly misshapen. He later released Fairfax and in 1953 Charleston Gray which broke the barrier for shipping, grower acceptance, and more universal consumer acceptance. One disadvantage of Charleston Gray was that fruit flesh color developed before they were fully ripe and growers in many cases were harvested prematurely, which reduced consumer demand.
During that period 6 varieties were released from Iowa, 4 from California, 1 from Georgia and 1 from Tennessee. V.M. Watts developed and released White Hope and Hope Diamond from the University of Arkansas. Recently, USDA nutritional scientists reported that the red pigment of watermelon, lycopene, has inhibiting qualities to some forms of cancer and is a source of vitamin A, C, B6 and potassium This means that watermelon fruits have become recognized more for their nutritional qualities when previously were considered as dessert or for salad components.