Watermelon story
Seedless watermelons begin with seeds
Breeders produce special seeds, and pollinating bees are still needed for fruit.
A breeding route to seedlessness
Crossing watermelon lines with different chromosome counts produces triploid plants whose fruits lack mature hard seeds.
Bees are still necessary
Seedless watermelon flowers still need pollen from a seeded variety to set fruit well.
A white-fleshed relative in Sudan
Wild relatives show that watermelon diversity extends beyond the familiar red-fleshed dessert fruit.