SW Florida: A tough year for more than one kind of "watermelon"

SW Florida watermelon growers battled three major diseases this past year

Watermelon growers got crushed this year in Southwest Florida. They battled diseases, pests and bad weather. Yields were off by as much as half, said Gene McAvoy, a multi-county vegetable agent based in Hendry County. “It was a pretty short season here,” he said.

The season wrapped up early in mid-May. The cold weather in January, February and March came as plants flowered and fruit formed. “We lost fruit. We lost flowers,” McAvoy said. Blooms were beaten off plants by winter rains, which also slowed pollination. “It was the wrong time,” McAvoy said.