How are seedless watermelons plants came to be?

Question

I have an idea, but not sure, serious questions, please.

Answer 1

They aren't actually 'seedless' they just have way fewer than a regular watermelon. They are hybrids, like a mule. For more info, check out this site:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/exten...

Answer 2

This is from Wikipedia......

Although so-called "seedless" watermelons have far fewer seeds than the seeded varieties, they generally contain at least a few soft, pale seeds. They are the product of crossing a female tetraploid plant (itself the product of genetic manipulation, using colchicine) with diploid pollen. The resulting triploid plant is sterile, but will produce the seedless fruit if pollenized by a diploid plant. For this reason, commercially available seedless watermelon seeds actually contain two varieties of seeds; that of the triploid seedless plant itself (recognizable because the seed is larger), and the diploid plant which is needed to pollenize the triploid. Unless both plant types are grown in the same vicinity, no seedless fruit will result. This system for growing seedless watermelons was first developed by H. Kihara in Japan and subsequently improved by O J Eigsti in partnership with Kihara. This scientific relationship was begun at the Third International Genetics Congress, held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1948.

Their collaboration lasted for over 20 years until Kihara died in 1986. Eigsti (who was a professor at Goshen College in Goshen, IN) developed a tetraploid hybrid in the 1950s which became the gold standard for all seedless watermelons developed since then. In 1986, Eigsti's company was reorganized and a joint venture (American Sunmelon) was entered into with SunWorld International and in the ensuing eleven years seedless watermelon became a staple in supermarkets around the world. In 1998, Eigsti's tetraploid hybrid along with all of the assets of American Sunmelon were sold to Syngenta, the seed producing arm of Novartis A.G.

Answer 3

They aren't actually completely seedless but have a lot less seeds.