Enhanced pollenizer and method for increasing seedless watermelon yield

Abstract

An enhanced, diploid pollenizer watermelon plant and method used to maximize the yield of triploid seedless watermelons per area. The enhanced pollenizer watermelon plant of the invention is either a hybrid variety, an open-pollinated variety or a synthetic variety, that exhibits the characteristics of small leaves and fruit with a brittle rind that splits when the fruit is overripe or breaks when relatively small physical forces are applied. In one embodiment, the watermelon plant of the invention is also characterized by extended flowering duration, thereby increasing the number of triploid watermelon flowers that are pollinated and set fruit. The method for producing a seedless watermelon fruit, includes the steps of providing a pollenizer diploid watermelon plant, extending the duration of flowering of the pollenizer plant while reducing the number of such plants needed to pollinate the same number of triploid watermelon plants, and maximizing dispersal of the pollenizer watermelon plant throughout the field of triploid watermelon plants.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of producing seeds of a watermelon plant, the method comprising the steps of:
 a) growing a diploid pollenizer watermelon plant, wherein said watermelon plant (i) is homozygous for a gene e and (ii) comprises a 5 th  leaf from the smallest new leaf on a vine having a surface area of not more than 50 cm 2 ;   b) allowing self-pollination of said plant; and   c) harvesting seeds from said plant.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising washing and drying the harvested seed. 
     
     
         3 . The watermelon plant according to  claim 1 , wherein said 5th leaf has a surface area in the range of 15 cm 2  to 50 cm 2 . 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said watermelon plant produces a fruit expressing the explosive rind trait encoded by gene e, resulting in a brittle rind that breaks under a pressure of not more than 1,800 g when a fruit tester with a 2 mm tip is used or under a pressure of not more than 2,300 g when a fruit tester with a 3 mm tip is used. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the rind of said fruit breaks under a pressure in the range of 400 g to 1,800 g when a fruit tester with a 2 mm tip is used 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the rind of said fruit breaks under pressure in the range of 1,000 g to 2,300 g when a fruit tester when a 3 mm tip is used.