Enhanced pollenizer and method for increasing seedless watermelon yield

Abstract

An enhanced, diploid pollenizer watermelon plant and method used to maximize the yield of triploid seedless watermelons per area. The enhanced pollenizer watermelon plant of the invention is either a hybrid variety, an open-pollinated variety or a synthetic variety, that exhibits the characteristics of small leaves and fruit with a brittle rind that splits when the fruit is overripe or breaks when relatively small physical forces are applied. In one embodiment, the watermelon plant of the invention is also characterized by extended flowering duration, thereby increasing the number of triploid watermelon flowers that are pollinated and set fruit. The method for producing a seedless watermelon fruit, includes the steps of providing a pollenizer diploid watermelon plant, extending the duration of flowering of the pollenizer plant while reducing the number of such plants needed to pollinate the same number of triploid watermelon plants, and maximizing dispersal of the pollenizer watermelon plant throughout the field of triploid watermelon plants.

1 . A watermelon plant comprising, at maturity:
 a) a fruit, the rind of which breaks under a pressure of not more than about 1,800 g when a fruit tester with a 2 mm tip is used or under a pressure of not more than about 2,300 g when a fruit tester with a 3 mm tip is used, an example of a plant that produces a fruit with such characteristics being the commercially available watermelon variety Tiny Orchid; and   b) a 5th leaf from the smallest new leaf on a vine having a surface area of not more than about 50 cm 2 , an example of a plant with such characteristics being publicly available line XinJiang.   
   
   
       2 . A watermelon plant having morphological and physiological characteristics of the fruit and leaves of NO1F3203B, said characteristics comprising at maturity:
 a) a fruit, the rind of which breaks under a pressure of not more than about 1,800 g when a fruit tester with a 2 mm tip is used or under a pressure of not more than about 2,300 g when a fruit tester with a 3 mm tip is used; and,   b) a 5 th  leaf from the smallest new leaf on a vine having a surface area of not more than about 50 cm 2 ;   
     wherein representative seed of NO1F3203B having been deposited as Accession No. PTA-4856. 
   
   
       3 . A watermelon plant comprising, at maturity:
 a) a fruit sharing the rind characteristics of the commercially available watermelon variety Tiny Orchid; and   b) leaves sharing the leaf characteristics of the publicly available line XinJiang.   
   
   
       4 . A watermelon plant that produces:
 a) fruits having the rind characteristics of the commercially available watermelon variety Tiny Orchid; and   b) leaves having the leaf characteristics of the publicly available line XinJuiang.   
   
   
       5 . The watermelon plant of  claim 3 , wherein the rind characteristics are that said rind of said fruit breaks under a pressure of not more than about 1,800 g when a fruit tester with a 2 mm tip is used or under a pressure of not more than about 2,300 g when a fruit tester with a 3 mm tip is used; and wherein the leaf characteristics are that a 5th leaf from the smallest new leaf on a vine of said watermelon plant has a surface area of not more than about 50 cm 2 . 
   
   
       6 . The watermelon plant according to  claim 5 , wherein the rind of said fruit breaks under a pressure in the range of about 400 g to about 1,800 g when a fruit tester with a 2 mm tip is used. 
   
   
       7 . The watermelon plant according to  claim 5 , wherein the rind of said fruit breaks under a pressure in the range of about 400 g to about 1,800 g when a fruit tester with a 2 mm tip is used or under a pressure in the range of about 1,000 g to about 2,300 g when a fruit tester when a 3 mm tip is used. 
   
   
       8 . The watermelon plant according to  claim 5 , wherein said 5th leaf has a surface area in the range of about 15 cm 2  to about 50 cm 2 . 
   
   
       9 . The watermelon plant according to  claim 5 , wherein said leaf is characterized by deep, non-overlapping leaf lobes. 
   
   
       10 . The watermelon plant according to  claim 5 , further comprising heavily branched vines. 
   
   
       11 . The watermelon plant according to  claim 5 , wherein the weight of said fruit in the range of about 2 lbs to about 7 lbs. 
   
   
       12 . The watermelon plant according to  claim 5 , wherein said plant is an inbred, a hybrid or a dihaploid. 
   
   
       13 . Pollen of the plant of  claim 5 . 
   
   
       14 . An ovule of the plant of  claim 5 . 
   
   
       15 . A fruit of the plant of  claim 5 . 
   
   
       16 . A seed of the plant of  claim 5 . 
   
   
       17 . A progeny of said watermelon plants claimed in  claim 5 , wherein said progeny retain the characteristics of the watermelon plants as set forth in  claim 5 . 
   
   
       18 . A method of producing seeds of a watermelon plant comprising the steps of:
 a) growing the watermelon plant according to  claim 5 ;   b) allowing self-pollination of said plant; and   c) harvesting seeds from said plant.   
   
   
       19 . The method according to  claim 18 , further comprises washing and drying said seed.