Field Report: Good and Bad Scenario for Texas Melon Crops
Texas melon producers reported exceptional fruit quality but slightly lower yields amid budget-breaking production costs and stagnant market prices, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.
Watermelon production was coming to a close, and cantaloupe and honeydew harvests were well underway in the Rio Grande Valley. Watermelon and cantaloupe harvests were about to begin in the Winter Garden region as growers look to meet peak seasonal demand around the Fourth of July holiday.
Juan Anciso, AgriLife Extension horticulturist, says fruit sets were good and resulted in above-average yields and good quality, but that high temperatures were impacting new growth.
“The first cutting was heavy, and there is no new fruit coming on,” he says. “The plants seem to be shutting down.”
Despite good yields for watermelon producers, Anciso says honeydew melon growers experienced problems, including a hailstorm that hurt their fruit’s aesthetics. Fruit with cosmetic “nicks” were not marketable to grocers. In some cases, Anciso said around 50% of fields, representing thousands of pounds of melons, were deemed unmarketable.
“There has been a flood of melons with these flaws on street corners and fruit stands, but they really don’t make up for the losses when you are talking 18-wheelers full of melons that are considered culls,” he adds. “Otherwise, growers in the Valley were looking at a heck of a season.”
For more on the state of the Texas melon crop, continue reading at agrilifetoday.tamu.edu.
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