Healthy and delicious, watermelon is a superfood that surprises and delights people. The health benefits go further than its juicy hydration. The fruit contains vitamin A and vitamin C. It is usually eaten raw, and its rind is sometimes preserved as a pickle.
This succulent fruit and vine-like plant of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) is native to tropical Africa and cultivated around the world. Its origins were traced back to the deserts of southern Africa, where it still grows in the wild. Today, it is estimated that more than 1.2 thousand varieties of watermelon are grown across 96 countries worldwide.
Watermelon grows in almost the entire Brazilian territory but mainly in the South and Northeast regions. In Brazil, the crops are largely carried out by small family properties, but top producers also do it. In cities, in addition to fairs and markets, it is usual to buy watermelon slices as fresh snacks. It is definitely part of our culture!
Exports are also advancing, with European countries being their largest buyers. The current crop grew 19% in revenue, moving US$ 58 million between August 2021 and March 2022.
The most cultivated watermelons in Brazil are from the Japanese and American varieties. Nowadays, the seedless and yellow varieties are gaining domestic and foreign markets. Learn more about the most common types:
Crimson Sweet
The classic watermelon in Brazil. It is a vigorous plant with round, light green fruits with dark green stripes. It has red and crispy pulp, excellent flavor, and high sugar content.
Pingo doce sem semente [Seedless “sweet drop”]
Brazilian seedless watermelon cultivars are expanding, becoming redder and crisper due to advancements in seed breeding. They result from hybridization, i.e., the cross-breeding of two different types of watermelons.
Pingo doce amarelinha [Yellow “sweet drop”]
This variety lacks the lycopene that gives red-fleshed watermelon its color. While the flesh is of a different color, the outer rind does not differ from the red watermelons. They may be either seeded or seedless and sometimes are sweeter than the red ones.
Charleston Gray
They are fruits with an elongated shape of light green color and thin darker stripes. They have brown seeds and high sugar content.
Congo
This one is a seedless watermelon with very sweet red pulp. The fruits are firm, oblong in shape with red flesh and excellent texture. Its seeds are white.
Híbrida Combat
They are rustic and vigorous plants, with round fruits and good and firm texture. Their pulp has excellent internal color and is also very sweet.