The growth of watermelon is often threatened by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (Fon) in successively monocultured soil, which results in economic loss. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of D123 wheat as a companion crop on soil enzyme activities, microbial biomass and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon and to explore the relationship between the eff...

Continuous cropping of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) can lead to reduced yield and quality. We aimed to determine the effects of cattle manure addition and rotation with green garlic to improve yield and reduce disease incidence in watermelon and to examine the effects on the biological and chemical characteristics of the soil. Field experiments were performed during 2012-2014 on land previ...

To investigate the detection of watermelon seeds exterior quality, a machine vision system based on least square support vector machine was developed. Appearance characteristics of watermelon seeds included area, perimeter, roughness, minimum enclosing rectangle and solidity were calculated by image analysis after image preprocess. The broken seeds, normal seeds and high-quality seeds were dist...

Pawpaw, banana and watermelon are tropical fruits with short shelf-lives under the prevailing temperatures and humid conditions in tropical countries like Nigeria. Production of wine from these fruits could help reduce the level of post-harvest loss and increase variety of wines. Pawpaw, banana and watermelon were used to produce mixed fruit wines using Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from pa...

This study tested the hypothesis that watermelon juice supplementation would improve nitric oxide bioavailability and exercise performance. Eight healthy recreationally-active adult males reported to the laboratory on two occasions for initial testing without dietary supplementation (control condition). Thereafter, participants were randomly assigned, in a cross-over experimental design, to rec...

BACKGROUND Two economic factors make watermelon worthy of consideration as a feedstock for ethanol biofuel production. First, about 20% of each annual watermelon crop is left in the field because of surface blemishes or because they are misshapen; currently these are lost to growers as a source of revenue. Second, the neutraceutical value of lycopene and L-citrulline obtained from watermelon is...

Since the mid-1980s, watermelon fields in southwestern Indiana have experienced outbreaks of a disease syndrome known as mature watermelon vine decline (originally known as sudden wilt). The disease was a limiting factor in production and reduced yields in many fields in 1989, 1995, and 1999. In 2000, it was especially severe, affecting more than 50 percent of watermelon acreage in southwest In...

Improper use of pesticides on food plants can result in significant toxicity. In spite of regulations, enforcement, and prior episodes of poisonings, poisonings from misapplication of pesticides continues to occur. The objective of this study was to present a case series of toxicity resulting from ingestion of watermelon inappropriately treated with the carbamate insecticide aldicarb. A restros...

Watermelon is susceptible to Fusarium wilt in successively mono-cropped soil. Pot experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of intercropping with aerobic rice on Fusarium wilt in watermelon. The tested soil was classified as a loam soil, previously planted with watermelon and collected from Hexian county, Anhui province, China. The results obtained are listed as follows: (1) 66.7% ...