| Estimated Cost |
$700 to $1500 per acre |
| Market Outlets |
Wholesale, grocery store, food service companies, farmers markets, roadside, pick-your-own |
| Market Potential |
Moderate; seasonal peaks; very competitive at times. Demand for seedless types increasing. |
| Yield Potential |
10,000 – 70,000 lbs/ac |
| Profit Potential |
$0 to $2,000 per acre |
| Adapted Areas |
Statewide |
| Labor Requirements |
1 to 2 man-days per acre during harvest, hand harvested |
| Equipment Requirements |
Tractor, shredder, mulch applicator (optional), disk, bedder, planter, transplanter, insect/disease sprayer, trailer |
| Soil Requirements |
Sandy to medium textured soil with good drainage |
| Water Requirements |
15 to 20 inches water per acre during season |
| Minimum Size |
1 to 10 acres |
| Risk Factor |
Moderate; seedless types – high |
| Other Limiting Factors |
Early freeze, weeds, diseases, rain and insects. Must have honey bees for crop pollination. |
| Comments |
Wholesale costs range from 25 to 35 percent for growing and 65 to 75 percent of costs for harvesting, grading, labor and transportation. (Direct-to-consumer sales have a volume limit but return more per unit to producer.) Seventy percent of watermelons are consumed in June, July and August. Seedless or triploid types becoming more popular but require higher degree of management than the hybrid and open pollinated varieties. Seedless varieties require transplant establishment and seeded varieties in the field to serve as pollinaters. Well suited to plastic mulch and drip irrigation. |
