The seedless watermelon market in New Zealand has been going along in fits and starts now for 20 years. Many varieties have been trialed over the years with varying degrees of success. Now we have seedless varieties that work in our environment admittedly climatic restrictions limit this to only a narrow harvest period of approximately mid- January to early-April depending on the location and season.
Our new introduction is Royal Jewel. A Royal Armada type, but different. Fruit size is smaller and much more in line with the size required by the NZ market. The rind is slightly darker, the flesh a deeper red and denser. Everyone has a different opinion of flavour, but in our opinion all the varieties we sell pass the test more than adequately. One of the overriding problems has been the occurrence of hollow heart in seedless watermelon. We have selected vigorously for varieties tolerant to this growth issue. We feel that genetics do play an important role alongside the use of nitrogen and environmental conditions.
We have a range of seedless watermelons available, some of which are marketed exclusively by certain companies. Contact us to discuss your options.
