Watermelon Guide 2025

Post Harvest Consumer

Post Harvest Consumer ResearchPreferred rind colorDark Rind85%LightRind15%This study evaluated whichof rind color the panelistpreferred when shoppingfor a watermelon. Panelistswere shown a picture of theintact exteriors of differentwatermelons and asked toselect which they preferredmost, when purchasingwatermelons at retail.The dark rind watermelonswere chosen by thepanelist as the preferredchoice 85% of the time.7.47.27.06.86.66.46.26.05.8Preferred overall flavor7.2Cracker Jack7.1Big Jack (E26C.00181)6.3Variety 17.0Variety 26.5Variety 3This study evaluated whichof the tested varieties hadthe best overall flavor profile.The panelists rated theirflavor preferences usingthe standard 9-pointhedonic scale, where 1 =dislike extremely, 5 =neither like nor dislike, and9 = like extremely.Among the varieties tested,Cracker Jack and Big Jack(E26C.00181), received thehighest ratings for overallflavor.1 | Enza Zaden

Post Harvest Consumer ResearchPreferred internal color90807060504030201063.1Cracker Jack80.5Big Jack (E26C.00181)55.4Variety 155.1Variety 260.8Variety 3This study evaluated whichof the tested varieties hadthe most attractive internalred color was. The panelistsrated the color intensity ona 0 - 100 scale, in which 0represented a pale weakcolor (non-preferred), and100 represented a deep redcolor (preferred).Among the tested varieties,Big Jack (E26C.00181) wasrated as having the mostfavorable internal color,followed by Cracker Jack .Average internal firmness6664626058565461.3Cracker Jack63.9Big Jack (E26C.00181)57.3Variety 158.5 58.2Variety 2Variety 3This study measured theinternal firmness of thetested varieties after 7 daysin storage. The internalfirmness of each fruit wasmeasured with a digitaltexture analyzer.Big Jack (E26C.00181), andCracker Jack exhibited thehighest firmness after 7 daysof storage, resulting in abetter shelf life and moreenjoyable texture.2 | Enza Zaden