Melons

Be on the lookout for fusarium fruit rot, other threats in the mid-Atlantic

There continue to be no reports of late blight on tomato or potato in the mid-Atlantic region. But, this week there was a confirmed report on tomato in eastern Tennessee determined to be caused by... more »

USDA revises trade standards for watermelons

The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service is revising the U.S. Standards for Watermelon to provide a common language for trade. AMS is establishing a total tolerance for Anthracnose and decay in the U.S. No. 1 and... more »

Sales of new Syngenta watermelon variety will benefit veterans’ groups

To mark National Watermelon Day on Aug. 3, Syngenta Vegetable Seeds has introduced a new seedless watermelon variety – Valor – developed to help growers maximize profitability. Introduced in the 2022 growing season, for every new Valorplant... more »

Spotted cucumber beetle management urged in Illinois

There seems to be a larger number of striped and spotted cucumber beetles this year in Illinois compared to previous years. It is important to control these beetles as they transmit the pathogen that causes... more »

North Carolina State student gets hands-on with horticulture research

For Nettie Baugher, North Carolina State’s online Master of Horticultural Science program offered the best of both worlds. Baugher’s undergraduate degree is in horticulture, and she currently works in horticulture as a commercial horticulture area agent... more »

Cantaloupe juice – the next big thing?

Summer in Georgia yields a bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables. In fact, Georgia is one of the top producers of cantaloupe in the U.S., and Georgia-grown watermelons and cantaloupes are the stars of summer... more »

New ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs issued

A pioneering concept using big data and computational biology has identified more than 1,500 phytochemicals in watermelon and innovative solutions have been proposed for the problems of off-flavors and blue-green algae in catfish. This information... more »

Mixed bag for California melon crop reported

As people get back to backyard celebrations this summer, California melon growers say demand for summer staples of watermelons, honeydews, cantaloupes and mixed melons remains high, though getting the crop to market has faced several... more »