Eating watermelon is one of the best parts of summer, but spitting the seeds out isn’t really the most polite thing to do. Luckily, seedless watermelons with little to no seeds exist. This makes the experience of snacking on a watermelon some kind of wonderful. But how are seedless watermelons made? With pure science, as it turns out. I did some digging to learn more about your favorite summer fruit.
How Seedless Watermelons Are Made
Seedless fruit is largely preferred by consumers. But the main question is, who comes up with the idea and works out all the kinks for this seemingly unnatural fruit? The word “seedless” is very contradictory since fruits are grown using seeds. Contrary to popular belief, seedless watermelons aren’t GMOs. Special traits from the fruit are chosen and are bred naturally, meaning seedless watermelons are simply hybrids. For these watermelons, farmers use an antibacterial agent known as a rooting hormone, that can be made from honey, willow bark, or auxin.
#SpoonTip: A hybrid is the offspring of two completely different plants or animals of different species. An example of a hybrid would be a mule, the offspring of a horse and donkey.
Even though watermelons are seedless, there’s a possibility of white seeds in the fruit. These white seeds are sterile, and cannot be used to grow more watermelons. Just like human babies, watermelons are born from a fertilized egg. The cell replicates, and then is split into two identical cells, and so on. But the white seeds you get in seedless watermelons can’t be fertilized so this growth process can’t take place.
The process of creating seedless fruits has cultivated through a specific scientific process. Mind blown, I know. If you’re now itching to get your hands on a ripe watermelon, make sure you know how to pick the perfect watermelon at the grocery store first.