By Clint Thompson
North Florida watermelons are progressing like they should, even amid a rare spring drought and following a dangerous freeze event that impacted the region in mid-March.
Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida, discussed the crop’s progression during an interview with AgNet Media.
“I think the biggest ones I’ve seen are approaching volleyball size. I think most everybody now has got baseball or softball size or bigger,” Hochmuth said. “For the most part, the youngest ones, the smallest fruit in the younger fields, that would sort of be the size. We’ve got a lot of big fruit, and we’ve set a really nice crop. The dry weather has really helped us not to be having to fight diseases. The recovery of the plant has been really good.
“Given what we’ve been through, they’re about where they should be. I’m hoping and thinking there will be some watermelons harvested before Memorial Day but I’m not sure. That’s still yet to be determined exactly how much of that is likely to happen.”
The crop’s growth this season has been aided by the lack of rainfall and subsequent diseases that can plague a watermelon crop. The lack of disease buildup has helped growers dodge the added expense of fungicide applications as well.
“The disease situation is one of the most expensive pieces in growing watermelons from an input standpoint. Fertilizer and fungicides are pretty significant in the overall cost of growing watermelons. If we don’t have to spray as much for the fungicides, that’s a real big benefit,” Hochmuth said.