Are seedless watermelons genetically modified fruit? Learn about how they are bred

Watermelon can be said to be a cooling, heat-relieving summer fruit that is also low in price, but the seeds inside the watermelon make people find it troublesome. However, with seedless watermelons, there is no need to worry about spitting out seeds. So are seedless watermelons genetically modified fruit? How are they bred?

1. Basic facts about seedless watermelons

1. Origin of seedless watermelons

In general, the probability of seedless watermelons existing in nature is very low. The seedless watermelons sold on the market are all produced through biotechnology hybridization, so seedless watermelons are cultivated and produced in most regions of our country.

2. Price of seedless watermelons

(1) The wholesale price of seedless watermelons in Suzhou, Anhui is 1.1-1.4 yuan/jin; the wholesale price of black-seeded seedless watermelons in Shaanxi is 0.9 yuan/jin, with a minimum purchase of 10,000 jin; the table below shows reference prices for seedless watermelons in some regions.

(2) In Weifang, Shandong, Langchao No. 2 seedless watermelon at 50g/pail costs 79 yuan for 1-30 items, 75 yuan for 31-49 items, and 70 yuan/item for more than 50 items; in the Beijing area, Jingling small seedless watermelon at 100 seeds/bag costs 180 yuan/bag for 1-19 bags, 166 yuan for 20-99 bags, and 153 yuan for more than 100 bags.

3. Varieties of seedless watermelons and yield per mu

Seedless watermelons also have many varieties, and the yield per mu differs under different climates and management techniques. For example, the yield per mu of Dongting No. 1 seedless watermelon is 3500-5000 kg; the yield per mu of Guangxi No. 5 seedless watermelon is about 3000 kg.

2. Are seedless watermelons genetically modified fruit?

Genetic modification technology is a technology that extracts specific biological genes, artificially synthesizes DNA fragments of specified sequences, and produces new varieties through recombination and breeding. This technology has been widely applied in the fields of medicine and food, but in recent years cases and topics about genetically modified foods causing cancer and carrying risks have also been constant, so everyone is also very confused about whether seedless watermelons are genetically modified.

What must be told to everyone here is that seedless watermelons are grown from seeds, and are watermelons formed by crossing diploids with tetraploids produced by induced mutation, so seedless watermelons are not genetically modified, and everyone can eat them with peace of mind.

3. How are seedless watermelons bred?

Seedless watermelons are bred using the method of artificially inducing polyploids.

1. Treat the seeds or seedlings of diploid watermelons with colchicine (a plant alkaloid), so that in the middle stage of cell division, it hinders the formation of spindle fibers and the primary wall, preventing the already replicated chromosome sets from separating to the two poles, and forming a secondary wall in the middle. The result is cells with doubled chromosome sets, doubling the chromosome sets of ordinary diploid watermelons to obtain tetraploid watermelon plants.

2. Then cross them with diploid watermelon plants (as the male parent), thereby obtaining triploid seeds. The triploid plants developed from the triploid seeds cannot form normal reproductive cells due to disordered pairing of homologous chromosomes during meiosis. Then the mature pollen of ordinary diploid watermelons is used to stimulate the ovary of the triploid plant's flower to become a triploid fruit. Because its ovules cannot develop into seeds, it is called triploid seedless watermelon.

So although the safety of many genetically modified foods cannot be completely guaranteed, what can be assured is that seedless watermelons are not genetically modified, so the vast number of “melon-eating masses” can eat them with peace of mind and boldness.