Technical Abstract: Watermelon contains lycopene, a pigment that has been found to prevent heart disease and may prevent certain cancers. A large number of watermelon varieties have been developed over the years, but little effort has been made to determine the range of lycopene present among varieties. We found that several varieties are in use that have a lycopene ranging from 60 to 100 ug/g, more than double the lycopene found in fresh tomato. Further, when a low lycopene containing variety (Black Diamond) was crossed with Dixie Lee, a high lycopene variety, lycopene appeared to be inherited in a dominant fashion. These results indicate that increasing lycopene content in watermelon may be relatively simple.