Can i plant seedless watermelon

High germination rate is important since seed of seedless types is quite expensive compared to seeded varieties. The standard number of chromosomes in watermelon is This is called the diploid number di meaning two, as in dissect — cut in two. With this even number, cell division is highly regular and produces pollen and egg cells with 11 chromosomes that recombine to produce seed with the usual 22 chromosomes. Through a chemical process, the chromosome number can be doubled from 22 to 44 tetraploid, tetra meaning four.

Cell division in plants with 44 chromosomes is, again, highly regular and will produce pollen and egg cells with 22 chromosomes that recombine to produce seed having 44 chromosomes.

However, if pollen from a plant with 22 chromosomes is placed on a female flower of a plant with 44 chromosomes, the resulting seed will have 33 chromosomes triploid — three sets of the base number of 11 chromosomes. This odd number does not produce or rarely produces viable pollen and eggs in the resulting seedlings.

Seedless watermelon fruit will have white seed traces, but only occasionally will it have a mature, brown, hard seed. Since the pollen of these plants is not viable, a diploid, seeded watermelon needs to be planted along with the seedless variety.

The diploid will provide good pollen for the bees to move around and pollinate the flowers of the seedless variety. Viable pollen is needed to stimulate fruit set and growth, even though the resulting fruit will be seedless.

The way they become triploid is by mating a diploid male with a tetraploid female. Tetraploids have four sets of chromosomes. The way you get tetraploids is by applying a chemical called colchicine which messes with cells as they are dividing. You add it to diploid seedlings and then some cells become tetraploid.

You have to cultivate these over several generations to get enough that produce enough viable seeds with suitable traits. Watermelon plants have male flowers and female flowers. The female flowers have a little pea-sized melon behind it. You remove the male flowers on the tetraploid plants because the female tetraploid flowers produce triploid fruit.

It doesn't work with a male tetraploid and female diploid. Pollination can be done by hand or using bees. Seeds from the triploid fruit grow into triploid plants. They don't produce much pollen, so you plant some diploid plants. Weight Down Club. Billiards League. Millsboro Lions Fritter Shack.

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