Watermelon Slices: Finally Firm!

When in a rush to throw a picnic, pre-sliced packaged watermelon may seem like a convenient solution. But oftentimes this summertime fruit has lost its crispness long before you take your first bite.

Scientists at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service may have found a way to help solve this problem. Benny Bruton and his colleagues have grafted gourd or squash rootstock to watermelon tops, making the fruit 25 to 30 percent more firm.

The grafts also make the watermelons resistant to Fusarium wilt, a widespread and costly plant fungus. The fungi live in the soil and attack plants at all stages of growth. Before grafting, watermelon growers in the U.S. have used methyl bromide to kill the fungus or rotated growing fields.