Texas watermelon harvest bouncing back from a rough 2022

Growers in the Lone Star State’s Rio Grande Valley, Winter Garden and West Texas growing regions are enjoying solid yields and increased moisture compared to last year’s brutal drought conditions.
Growers in the Lone Star State’s Rio Grande Valley, Winter Garden and West Texas growing regions are enjoying solid yields and increased moisture compared to last year’s brutal drought conditions.
(Photo: Trongnguyen, Adobe Stock)

The Texas watermelon queen is in “full touring mode” headed into July, making her way to picnics and parades across the state, with melon harvest in full swing. While the Lone Star State might not boast the highest watermelon output in the U.S., it produces a steady supply of the iconic fruit of summer outings and barbecues.

Most domestic watermelons are produced in Southern states, with Florida leading output, producing a third of all U.S.-grown watermelons. The Sunshine State is trailed by Georgia, California and Texas in top watermelon producers. According to the most recent USDA Economic Research Service data, Texas produced about 11% off all U.S.-grown watermelons.

In West Texas, watermelon farmer and Texas Watermelon Association President Luke Brown was preparing to cut his first melons when he spoke to The Packer on June 26. Right now, Brown is hoping the weather remains favorable before the first round of harvest on his 220-acre watermelon farm in Balmorhea, Texas.

“It's nerve-wracking this time of year. You got these thunderstorms built up kind of over the mountains every evening and you never know if one of them is going to have a hailstorm in it,” Brown said. “You don't know if it's going to hit you or not; it's just sporadic.”

If the notoriously fickle Texas weather cooperates, the fourth-generation watermelon farmer is looking forward to what he anticipates will be a good yield.

“Peak harvest is getting ramped up really good right now and will peak about the second week of July and run pretty hard all the way through the second or third week of August,” he said.

Brown was also pleased with the quality he’s seeing in his fields.

“This crop looks very good — probably one of the best I’ve ever had,” he said.

Brown prefers to stagger his harvest into five ages of melons, each to be harvested in waves over three months.

“We’ll never cut more than 10 truckloads a day,” he said. “That’s the way we want to structure our labor, and the way ... market conditions tend to be at different points in the summer, we just find it’s better to have a small, steady supply.”

“Obviously price fluctuates, and right now price is real favorable,” Brown continued. “We’re not complaining about it, but it’s the effects of inflation, no doubt. My bills are 50% higher than they were. It’s all relative.”

Brown relies on hiring H-2A workers for his harvest labor.

“Without H-2A, I’m done. It’s over that day,” he said. “We have some year-round local guys that have been with us since we started, and they worked for my grandfather 30 years before that. But as far as harvest labor, we rely on the visa program, and we use the same guys every year; these workers have been harvesting for us for seven or eight years now.”

Yield up, quality down in Rio Grande Valley region

The 2023 crop is shaping up to be average for Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and Winter Garden regions, with better yields but lower quality fruit compared to the previous season, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension experts.

“Yields are better than last year, but quality is down, and I think if you asked growers, they’d say it’s average across the board,” Juan Anciso, AgriLife Extension horticulturist in Weslaco, Texas, said in a statement. “Harvest is wrapping up in the Valley, and there are more watermelons making it to the market.”

Last year, watermelon production in the Rio Grande Valley dipped 17%, compared to the season prior. However, watermelon acreage increased in South Texas in 2023, Anciso said. Overall, fruit yields were about average while quality was lower due to consistent rains throughout the month of May.

Related news: Cantaloupe growers stitch together a steady supply through summer

Producers worried about drought and water supplies at the beginning of the season, but since May 1 the rains have created quality issues, Anciso said. Rainfall as the fruit developed on the vine led to lower brix measurements than in recent years, which affected flavor and sweetness. The rains also led to some issues with diseases, like downy mold and fusarium, which in turn also led to lower-quality fruit.

Outlook in Winter Garden looks bright

Meanwhile, conditions were looking up in Texas’ Winter Garden region, Uvalde-based A&M Agrilife Extension horticulturalist Larry Stein said in a market update. Recent rains have improved soil moisture levels, and the combination of milder temperatures and moisture created ideal growing conditions for most crops, including melons.

Watermelons were vining, blooming and being pollinated by bees, but they could be slightly behind schedule due to cooler temperatures this spring, Stein said in the update.

Related news: Mexican melon markets to stabilize for peak summer promotions, forecasts grower

“Other than a few issues, I can’t believe how well they are looking right now,” he said. “Melons like it hot and dry, but the milder temperatures and moisture has them looking very good.”

Overall, conditions are a far cry from the 2022 season when early triple-digit temperatures, high winds and drought added up to a rough year across the main watermelon-producing regions of Texas.

 

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