CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 06/28/07

Georgia watermelon harvest hits full throttle

By Brad Haire
University of Georgia

For many people, a sweet, juicy bite of watermelon on a hot day means summertime has arrived. And if you’ve eaten one recently or will in the next few weeks, that melon likely grew in Georgia, where farmers have overcome hurdles to enjoy a good harvest now, say University of Georgia experts.

An Easter freeze hit the crop in the middle of planting, which started in mid March. High winds sandblasted young plants a week later. Then an extreme drought settled over Georgia. All of this hurt the crop and delayed its development.

Overall, the crop has come out OK, said Terry Kelley, a watermelon specialist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Eighty percent of the crop is rated in fair to good condition.

“It’s been an uphill battle this year (for farmers),” Kelley said. “But it hasn’t been the steepest they’ve ever climbed.”

Harvest geared up a few weeks ago to hit full throttle right before that quintessential watermelon holiday: the Fourth of July.

“If you buy a watermelon for the Fourth in Georgia, it’s probably a Georgia melon,” Kelley said.

Georgia farmers planted around 30,000 acres this year, he said. Yields will be good, but not great, probably 40,000 pounds to 50,000 pounds per acre.

Farmers have received prices “they can certainly live with,” Kelley said, ranging from 14 cents to 18 cents per pound. The crop last year was worth about $55 million.

Drought conditions helped keep disease problems at bay this season, said David Langston, a plant pathologist with the UGA Cooperative Extension. But in recent weeks a disease called powdery mildew has attacked and collapsed vines in some fields. This turned a relatively low-cost disease year into a moderate to high-cost one.

Responding to market demand over the past decade, Georgia farmers now grow mostly seedless watermelon varieties.

Kelley predicts a new shift in the market in the coming years with the introduction of mini melons. Weighing around 5 pounds, they are just the right size for an individual. Georgia farmers have already taken note and are growing a small number now.

Big or small, an uncut watermelon can stay fresh a week at room temperature, a little longer if kept over an air-conditioned vent. A sliced melon should be wrapped in cellophane and stored in the refrigerator to keep it crisp.

Miscellaneous melon facts

  • The watermelon is in the Cucurbitacea family and related to the cucumber and squash..
  • A watermelon is 90 percent water.
  • Native to central Africa, watermelons were first cultivated by ancient Egyptians.
  • Farmers plant 1,600 to 1,800 watermelon plants per acre.
  • One commercially-grown plant produces one or two melons in the field.

Brad Haire is the former news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Terry Kelley
David B. Langston
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time to spend more of the holiday with guests, taking time ahead of the day to set expectations can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. CAES News
Manage holiday stress with kindness, boundaries 11/21/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Much like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time allows you to spend more of the holiday with guests, setting expectations ahead of the celebration can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science.
Conner Hall CAES News
CAES welcomes 2024 cohort of Rural Scholars 11/20/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences welcomed its fourth cohort of students chosen for the CAES Rural Scholars Program this fall just weeks after celebrating the program's first graduation. Georgia Orman, one of four inaugural Rural Scholars in CAES, graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. The new scholars for 2024, all from Georgia, are Ela Ash of Ocilla, Lauren E. Coley of Cochran, Amelia Housley of Canon, and London O’Steen of Ambrose.
Women play a vital role in rural American farming, but much of that work is "invisible," like raising children or household chores, according to a new UGA study. (Getty Images) CAES News
The women and stress behind rural farming in America 11/19/24 Leigh Hataway
Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests the unique stresses from farm life may be taking a toll on one of the pillars of the families that make your dinners possible: the women who keep farming families running. “If we don’t control our food sources, we don’t control our health and safety,” said Anna Scheyett, lead author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of national security that farmers survive in the United States. And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.”
Mergoum at Creature Comforts CAES News
That's the spirit! 11/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras, Claire Sanders Kinnard
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Professional brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile.
Contest-winning concept becomes viable business for alumnus who developed solar-powered, self-propelled chicken coop as a student. CAES News
Poultry in motion 11/14/24 Sean Montgomery
Chris Ayers emerged from his orange and black rough-terrain vehicle with an ear-to-ear grin. “This is Chiktopia,” he said, sweeping his arm wide to indicate the back half of a 3,600-square-foot warehouse on his family’s farm in Ball Ground, Georgia. “This is where I manufacture and assemble the chicken coops. Everything is done entirely from over here.”
UGA Grand Farm Site Plan web CAES News
UGA Grand Farm wins stage two of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund competition 11/13/24 Jordan Powers
Startups in the agricultural technology sector face significant barriers on the path to establishment, including access to training and capital. These barriers are heightened for underrepresented entrepreneurs seeking to start new companies. The University of Georgia Grand Farm, part of a historic partnership between the University of Georgia and Fargo, North Dakota-based Grand Farm, aims to change that.