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August 7, 2001
Heard it through the watermelon vine:
abundant Indiana crop
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Hot, dry growing conditions have watermelon crops doing anything but withering on the vine. Prices may be a different story altogether.
Indiana producers are harvesting a better-than-average crop, said Daniel Egel, a Purdue University plant pathologist and watermelon expert.
Egel, based at the Southwest-Purdue Agricultural Center near Vincennes, Ind., said watermelon crops look healthier than last year. Fewer cases of the mysterious "vine decline" disease that devastated acres of mature Indiana watermelons in 2000 have been reported this season, he said.
"We haven't had a lot of foliar diseases, which means production will be a little bit higher," Egel said. "We had some soilborne problems early. However, the soilborne problems don't appear to be as bad as last year. It appears we'll have a pretty good year."
The Hoosier watermelon harvest runs from early July to early September. Most of the juicy, green gourds are grown in southern Indiana. Some farmers plant early-, mid- and late-season fields to keep crops coming throughout the summer.
Last year, Indiana farmers harvested 6,100 acres of watermelon, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Indiana produced 158.6 million pounds of watermelon, seventh highest among the states.
The 2000 Hoosier crop was worth $10 million.
Production numbers for 2001 aren't yet available but Egel expects an abundant crop. Other watermelon states in the Midwest, South and East also are enjoying large harvests, he said.
An oversupply could flood the market with watermelon, sending prices cascading, Egel said. Lower prices would be good for consumers but bad for farmers, many of whom raise watermelon as a second income.
"Prices for watermelon vary from 3 cents per pound to more than 10 cents per pound," he said. "Most growers tell me they must have at least 4 or 5 cents per pound to break even."
Watermelon prices usually peak around Independence Day and may rebound in September, Egel said.
"The closer you can get to July 4, the higher the prices are going to be," he said. "Sometimes there's a market bump toward Labor Day, so some farmers will plant fields that are supposed to come out late, and they'll try to get some production right through Labor Day."
Like other crops, watermelons require a sizable investment. Farmers can expect to sink an average of $1,100 on a single crop acre, including fertilizer, labor and irrigation, Egel said.
Source: Daniel Egel, (812) 886-6693; egel@purdue.edu
Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415; sleer@aes.purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722; Beth Forbes, Coordinator, bforbes@aes.purdue.edu;
https://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/AgComm/public/agnews/
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Related Web sites:
National Watermelon Promotion Board
National Watermelon Association
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