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- Tradition of Melon Growing Thrives in Southwest Indiana
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- By Karen Gentry
Managing Editor
- Located on the Wabash River basin, there’s a section of land in Southwest Indiana with a micro-climate suitable for growing melons.
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Knox County and other counties in the southwest portion of the state tend to get warmer temperatures than the rest of Indiana, according to Chris Gunter, horticulturist with the Southwest Purdue Agriculture Program. The warmer climate along with sandier soil has made melon growing a tradition for approximately 60 growers in this pocket of the state. Many melon growers are fifth or sixth generation, according to Gunter.
“We have excellent soils for melon production. Melons like to be grown in sandier soils,” said Gunter. Today, Knox County is in the top 100 melon producing counties in the country. Growers produce 725,000 cwt. of muskmelons and 2.5 million cwt. of watermelon, making Indiana the fifth largest muskmelon producing state in the country and the sixth largest in watermelon. Southwest Indiana now grows 3,000 acres of muskmelons and 6,000 acres of seeded and seedless watermelon.
Typically growers average 40 to 60 acres of melons with some the largest growers at 300 acres, according to Gunter. Melons are sold wholesale to brokers for Midwest chain stores or through roadside stands or to truck sellers, Gunter said growers in Southwest Indiana average 40,000 pounds to the acre compared to 20,000 to 25,000 pounds they used to get per acre with the older varieties.
“We mostly grow the Eastern type muskmelons,” said Gunter. Popular varieties include Superstar and Eclipse, grown because of their good shipping ability, yields and acceptable sugar content.
Gunter said growers push for the early melon market to get premium prices, especially for muskmelons. He said melons can be planted in early May and be ready 80-85 days later. Because of staggered planting dates harvest lasts from the third week of July until the first frost, Gunter said.
“Normally the first fruit off your plants will pay for all of your expenses and then after that the rest should be profit,” said Gunter. He said growers normally receive a premium for seedless watermelons, although these are more expensive to produce. Unless they have a roadside stand, most growers stick to only growing melons, he said.
Melon competition comes from southern Georgia and Michigan. “Hopefully we catch the window between Georgia and Michigan,” Gunter said.
Indiana melon growers face pest pressures including the cucumber beetle. Last year, a dry year, was a bad one for mites that can become a problem late in the season. Mites can affect the fruit of a watermelon causing pimpling, which hurts marketability.
Early melons are grown using clear plastic while black plastic is typical for most melons. Gunter said research is currently being done on testing different colors of plastic for their different thermal qualities.
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| Knox County, Indiana growers produce 725,000 cwt. of muskmelons on 3,000 acres. Indiana is the fifth largest muskmelon producing state in the country. |
As clear plastics warm the soil faster, they also allow weed growth underneath the plastic that competes with the plant for water and nutrients. Gunter said growers are interested in getting the soil warmed up quickly in the spring with a plastic that is still opaque yet keeps the weed growth down.
Research is being done at the Purdue’s 250-acre vegetable farm north of Vincennes, Ind. Gunter said he feels blessed to be able to work as a team with Frankie Lam, the resident entomologist and Dan Egel, the resident plant pathologist.
“As we’re all together in the same location, we can go as a team and work together,” Gunter said. “The best part is we can collaborate on projects.”
He said a grower may call and say “my plants are all dying and I need help.” The trio of researchers can quickly figure out whether it’s a disease, insect or soil problem.
“Usually they have a good idea of what they think is going on. They (growers) usually want some kind of confirmation,” Gunter said.
As a vine crop watermelons vine out sooner than pumpkins,” said Gunter. Muskmelons will change from a kind of greenish color to a yellow when it’s ripe, he said.
A brand new disease, dubbed mature watermelon vine decline, has been causing some growers fits in the last few years. Gunter said a research grant has been used to help determine the cause of the disease.
The disease only shows up on watermelon and shows itself when the crop is almost ready to pick. Suddenly vines collapse exposing the fruit to the sun. “One day the crop looks fine and the next day all the vines are down,” said Gunter. It typically shows itself after a two-inch rain late in the season.
Egel said the disease doesn’t show up at the research farm and the work to look for the cause of the disease has to take place in growers’ fields.
Egel is also looking at alternative fungicides that are environmentally and user friendly.
“We’re trying to reduce conventional fungicides,” said Egel. He is also implementing the use of MELCAST, a disease forecasting system that enables growers to spray only when they have to. Use of MELCAST help eliminate two to three fungicide sprays per year, according to Egel.
Last year’s very dry weather also affected yield especially for growers who don’t irrigate. “A good chunk of our acreage is not irrigated,” Gunter said. “Some growers do use drip irrigation with a few using overhead sprinkling.”
Many melon growers are members in the Southwest Indiana Melon & Vegetable Growers Association, a group that meets annually in March.
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