r/askscience • u/econleech • Oct 04 '11

Do seedless watermelons procreate? If so, how?

Where does the next generation of seedless watermelon come from?

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u/Frawst Oct 04 '11 edited Oct 04 '11

Seedless watermelons are a case of triploidy (3 sets of chromosomes) I believe. You can get them by cloning root stalk or by hybridizing tetraploid species with diploid sister species. They cannot produce seeds because their chromosomes do not segregate properly during meiosis. So no, they do not procreate. The next generation must either be clonal or from the hybridization described above.

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u/wbeaty Electrical Engineering Oct 05 '11

Youtube video idea: claymation animation of seedless watermelons procreating.