![]() The third type is triploid or seedless watermelon. F1 hybrid seed will be as much as five to 10 times as costly as open-pollinated seed, and available F1 hybrid varieties will change from year to year. The disadvantages of F1 hybrid seed are cost and availability. F1 hybrid seed will exhibit increased uniformity of type and time of harvest compared with open-pollinated seed and can exhibit as much as a 20 percent to 40 percent increase in yields over open-pollinated varieties grown under similar conditions. Open-pollinated varieties have true-to-type seed (seed saved from one generation to the next will maintain the same characteristics) and are less expensive then F1 hybrid varieties.į1 hybrids are developed from two inbred lines that have been selfed for several generations and then crossed, with the subsequent seed sold to growers. The selection can be based upon yield, quality characteristics and disease resistance. ![]() Open-pollinated varieties are developed through several generations of selection. Watermelon varieties fall into three broad classes based on how the seed were developed: open-pollinated, F1 hybrid, and triploid or seedless. Flesh colors can be dark red, red or yellow. Rind colors can be light to dark green with or without stripes. Watermelons range in shape from round to oblong. ![]() Increases in average yield per acre will continue as more growers adopt plastic mulch, intensive management and new hybrid varieties. Watermelons will continue to be an important part of vegetable production in the state. More than 35,000 acres of watermelon are produced in Georgia, with more than 25 percent of this produced on plastic mulch. Yields of 20,000 to 40,000 pounds per acre are common. Watermelons can be grown on any well-drained soil throughout Georgia but are particularly well adapted to the Coastal Plain soils of South Georgia. Watermelon is a warm-season crop related to cantaloupe, squash, cucumber and pumpkin.
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