Watermelon is a juicy treat, no matter what time of year. For those who grow the cucurbit crop, there are plenty of watermelon varieties to choose from. But which is the best fit for your farm?
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Altata RZ (Rijk Zwaan USA)
‘Altata RZ’ is an outstanding yielder, with attractive skin and fading stripes. The flesh has an intense red color, provides very high setting, good rind thickness and contains no black seeds. This sweet seedless, mini-Crimson offers round and uniform shape, a very long shelf life and high sugar levels at 13% Brix. Region: Adaptable throughout U.S. Matures in 75 to 78 days.
‘Bahama’ is a specialty seedless watermelon that has a thicker rind and denser flesh. It helps contribute to increased shelf life and improved shipping ability. It’s easier to harvest, pack, and handle due to smaller fruit size. The attractive dark rind and excellent eating quality appeal to customers. Region: Adaptable across diverse growing regions, USA. Matures in 79 days.
‘Cato’ is a seedless watermelon with bright red, firm flesh. It has delicious flavor and appealing texture. It is used for fresh cut and whole fruit markets. ‘Cato’ has excellent shipping ability. Matures in 82 days.
Chaperone F1 (HM.Clause, Harris Seeds DBA Garden Trends, Inc.)
This compact pollinator produces early flowers on a bush habit, that will not compete with your seedless varieties. It will continue to flower throughout the growing season and sets small, easy to identify fruit that crush when stepped on. ‘Chaperone’s extended flowering period will ensure a strong seedless watermelon crop. Region: Well adapted.
‘Cream of Saskatchewan’ is a 12-inch ice-box watermelon. It has pale, green skin with dark stripes, and yellow flesh. The average weight is 7 pounds. Region: USA. An eye-catcher at fresh market. Matures in 70 days.
Dark Knight (Syngenta Vegetable Seeds, Gowan Seed Company)
‘Dark Knight’ is a hybrid triploid Sugar Baby. It is uniquely dark, glossy and has a smooth rind, with very dark red, firm, sweet flesh. High sugars and a great disease package. Matures in 80 days.
El Capitan (Sakata Seed America, Rupp Seeds, Stokes Seeds Inc.)
A new triploid watermelon with an attractive darker Crimson Sweet rind pattern. This variety has shown excellent yield potential as well as extended shipping and field holding ability. It grows uniform, blocky-shaped fruit on vigorous vines. ‘El Capitan’ has deep red, firm flesh, small pip size and excellent flavor. Region: USA and Canada. Matures in 85 to 90 days.
This early-to-mid maturing triploid offers a unique market advantage through its combination of high Brix, high stress tolerance and excellent disease package. ‘Eleanor’ features very high yield potential, a unique medium-dark Crimson rind pattern, and deep red flesh, delivering excellent eating quality. Low cracking and hard seed coats compared to industry standards. Region: North America. Matures in 82 days.
‘Excess’ is a late-maturing, mini seedless watermelon variety developed for open-field production. It delivers very high fruit quality. ‘Excess’ features a deep-red color, excellent taste, and an average of 12% Brix, making it an attractive product for consumers. With strong plant vigor and good fruit set (8s and 6s), ‘Excess’ offers reliable performance for growers with long shelf-life potential. Matures in 70 to 75 days.
‘Honeycutt’ is an early maturing triploid. It has exceptional fruit quality, firm flesh, high brix, stress tolerance, and the highest yields. Matures in 82 days.
Growers looking for a highly adaptable variety will appreciate ‘Joy Ride’ for its high yield potential, even in tough growing conditions. This vigorous 36-count watermelon has demonstrated low instances of hollow heart, in an overwhelming amount of trials over 5 years. ‘Joy Ride’ has a thick rind and firm fruit with uniform setting. It has good canopy coverage and has shown a high average degrees Brix of 11.5 in trials.
Exclusive! A flavorful early mini-diploid with reliable performance! ‘Natsu Cocoa’ is a very uniform fruit, with exceptional sweetness and dark-green, tiger-striped rind. Stronger crack resistance (than ‘Little Baby Flower’, which it replaced), as well as improved texture and a longer harvest period. Consistently a top performer in our trials, ‘Natsu Cocoa’ has a long harvest window and good field holding. Fruits that ripened a month later were just as delicious as those that ripened first. Region: Widely adapted. Matures in 65 days.
This mini watermelon is high quality, with a high brix (11 to 12%). It has a nice crisp texture with an extremely sweet flavor. The flesh color is a beautiful intense, deep-red color. The 3 to 5 pound round fruit have a recognizable dark-green, tiger stripe pattern and uniform appearance. ‘Ocelot’ yields 2 to 3 fruit per plant that size at 50% (8-count) and 45% (6-count) box sizes. It is an early maturing triploid that makes for a good start to your season. Matures 65 days from transplant.
‘Powerhouse’ produces uniform, blocky fruit with firm flesh, great internal color and full flavor. This triploid offers high yield potential, a high percentage of 45-count fruit and early market advantage. Region: USA and Canada. Matures in 86 days.
A prolific yielder! ‘Red Garnet’ is deep red, very firm and sweet. It’s proven to be a very adaptable hybrid triploid in the Eastern U.S, and Texas. A strong seedling vigor with a vigorous plant. ‘Red Garnet’ produces uniform size and shape fruit throughout its extended harvest. The preferred dark-green, crimson stripe exterior and strong rind is excellent for 45-count bin shipping. Matures in 81 days.
‘Sandbar’ is a 45-count seedless watermelon with a dark, mottle-stripe rind pattern. It has a vigorous plant that has good yield potential of fruit with outstanding high internal quality. Nice dark-red flesh color, firm and high brix. Robust vines tolerate sandy soils. A low incidence of hard spot. Region: West & Southeast. Matures in 82 days.
‘Sarabi’ is a mini seedless, tiger-type with excellent yield potential and strong internal quality. It averages 12% Brix and features vigorous vines with high fruit set. It produces a high proportion of 8s (3 to 5 pounds). ‘Sarabi’ delivers consistent performance across diverse environments. Region: Arizona & California. Matures in 75 days.
‘Sugar Baby’ is an early icebox diploid variety. This watermelon has small, mottled seeds. Popular for use as a pollinator for triploid watermelons; and is good eating as well. Matures 75 days from transplant.
‘Tiger Doll F1’ has bright, red flesh, and is crisp and extra sweet. It has light green rind with dark stripes. The average weight is 8 to 9 pounds. An early maturing variety. Region: U.S.. ‘Tiger Doll F1’ is popular at fresh market. Matures in 72 days.
‘Triple Baby F1’ has a shiny black rind with red flesh. A seedless watermelon for fresh market. The average weight is 7 to 8 pounds. Region: USA. Matures in 65 days.
‘Tropical Sunshine RZ’ has nice, deep-yellow flesh with very high sugar levels at 13% Brix. A sugar baby with dark, tiger stripes add to the good definition between the rind and bright-colored flesh. ‘Tropical Sunshine RZ’ offers excellent fruit setting, strong yields and good uniformity. Region: USA. Matures in 80 to 84 days.
This triploid watermelon delivers outstanding interior quality, very high yields, and strong ability to set in the heat. ‘Troubadour’ produces uniform size fruits (primarily 45-count), for higher bin counts. The deep-red flesh and very dark Crimson Sweet rind pattern, make it visually appealing. An early maturing variety.
