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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Charleston, South Carolina » Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #423677
Research Project: Basic and Applied Approaches for Pest Management in Vegetable Crops

Location: Vegetable Research

Title: Watermelon insect management

Author
item RILEY, DAVID - University Of Georgia
item Simmons, Alvin
item SPARKS, ALTON - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: University of Georgia Research Report
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: N/A

Technical Abstract: Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai, is the vegetable crop with the largest acreage in the state of Georgia, totaling 16,897 acres in 2022 and concentrated in the south-central portion of the State. The Jubilee type striped melon is a traditional type of melon grown in Georgia. This annual crop takes 75 to 100 days to mature and the main market in Georgia is the July 4th Independence Day market with planting in April. The total budgeted cost of watermelons per acre is $7,674; this includes $3,848 for harvest and marketing costs, and only $2,864 per acre is the preharvest variable costs. A small fraction, $77 or 2%, of the preharvest cost is budgeted for insecticides; however, $441 is for fungicide. This clearly indicates that disease control is much more of a concern than insect control in this crop. Interestingly, $53 per acre is budgeted for bee hives/insect pollination. It is as economically important to maintain beneficial insects as control pestiferous insects in the watermelon crop in Georgia. In this chapter, we discuss what insect pests and beneficial arthropods can be present in the watermelon crop, and the relative importance of each.