Watermelon Final

8/6/2019 Watermelon Final

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2005 THE WASHINGTON POST COMPANYOctober 25, 2005

How Do You

Grow Seedless

Watermelons?5INSIDE

evisiting

elon9ot a Seedy One

n the Bunch8Making Better

Plants6

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

Seedless Fruits and Ve etables


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October 25, 2005

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In Education Program

Lesson: Seedless fruits and

vegetables have been developedby scientists to improve existingvarieties, to create new varietiesand to meet consumer demands.Level: Low to highSubjects: Science, health,language artsRelated Activity: Art, homeconomics, economics

This online guide is related toa new series of science-focusedKidsPost articles. Students ask

the questions, scientists andWashington Post science writersgive the answers. In addition tosuggesting activities for usingthe KidsPost articles, sidebars,timelines, graphs and charts,activities are provided for olderstudents in related disciplines.

Where might you find seedlessfruits and vegetables in the pages

f The Washington Post? In Foodsection recipes that encourage the

ix of feta and goat cheeses withwatercress, chopped red tomatoesand diced seedless watermelon. InScience articles in which reportersntroduce new varieties of seedless

grapes and eggplants. In Businesssection pages, where seedlesstomato fruit sales are compared to

rofits from older varieties. In theReliable Source where we learn thatennifer Lopezs contract rider

a few years ago specified whiteouches, white roses, white candles,

honey-peanut butter Balance Barsand green seedless grapes.The suggested questions

and activities in this guidenclude the same variety as

Post coverage and the classesfound in students schedules.

Teachers may also wish to useThe Post NIE online guideLeavesthat focuses on photosynthesis

and the life cycle of leaves. Go

to www.washpost.com/nie andin lessons plans selectLeaves.

Read About Seedless Watermelons

Give students a copy of How DoYou Grow Seedless Watermelon?written by Post science reporterRick Weiss. The following ques-tions may be used with the Oct.25, 2005, KidsPost article.

For how many years havepeople cultivated watermelons?

Why was the watermelon

particularly useful in NorthAfrica and the Middle East?

What evidence exists thatwatermelons were valued in Egypt?

How many seeds may befound in a regular watermelon?

In what country was the firstseedless watermelon developed?How many years did this teamof scientists work on this projectbefore they were successful?

What procedure was used todevelop seedless watermelon?

Weiss makes a comparison ofseedless watermelons to mules.List the ways in which mules andwatermelons are not alike. Inwhat ways are mules and seed-less watermelons alike? Explainto students that the pairs of ananalogy do not need to share alarge number of similar charac-teristics or qualities. Those thatthey do share should be distinct.

For what reasons did scientists

work to develop seedless water-melons, according to the article?What are the white specks

found in seedless water-melons? Are they edible?

Give evidence that theAmerican consumer has acceptedseedless watermelons.

How and Why: Seedless Fruits and Vegetables Timeline

4,000 to 5,000 years ago: Egyptian

ierog yp ics epict farmersharvesting watermelons. Gradually

they spread throughout the

Me iterranean region, popu ar as

food and as natures bottled water.

10th century: Watermelons reach China

13th century: Watermelons

spread through Europe

16th century: Watermelons appear

in North America, probably

arriving on slave ships fromAfrica and the Caribbean

0th century: Scientists create

seedless watermelon varieties

1st century: New co ors? New

flavors? Seeds that taste like M&Ms?

What would you like to see?

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

ILE PHOTO THE WASHINGTON POS

Seedless watermelons are harvested on a

farm in Maryland.


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VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2


After reading the article and

discussing the questions, perhapsstudents could sample a slice of aseedless watermelon. No chance ofa seed spitting contest beginning.

Describe Seedless Fruits

and Vegetables

Visit a farmers market or theproduce section of a local grocerystore so students can becomeacquainted with the colors,textures, sizes and shapes of fruitsand vegetables. If you cannot

visit a farmers market, set up adisplay of grapes, eggplants, pump-kins, squash and other fruits andvegetables in the classroom. Youmay decide to have all be seedlessor mix them and see if studentscan discern which are seedlessfrom the exterior appearance.

Help students to understandthe importance of reading thelabels provided by produceproviders. Compare and contrastseveral items through informa-tion found on their labels.

You may also name theproduce using foreign languages.Watermelon, for example, wouldbe pastque (French) anguria(Italian), suika (Japanese), sandia(Spanish) and lubenica (Croatian).

Ask each student to select onefruit or vegetable to describe:

using the five senses and color,using similes,using comparison and contrast,

using connotations.

Store the item in a brown paperbag, labeled with each studentsname. One to two class periodslater, ask students to write a storyin which the fruit or vegetable is aparticipant. Include a description ofthe produce in its current condition.

One to two class periods later,ask students to write a poem,

de or short essay addressing

he fruit or vegetable. Are someshowing signs of decay morehan others? You may wish tout into the fruit or vegetableo write a more analytic piece,

a dissection of the produce.

Illustrate Produce

Use the display of fruits andvegetables for an art project.Whether the medium is oil, water-

olor, pastels, pencils or torn paper,a display of fruits and vegetables

an inspire still life compositions.Either before or after the exercise,you may share examples of still lifeartwork from different periods andountries. The examples could illus-rate single fruit subjects, combi-ations of fruits and vegetables,ifferent lighting and setups.

How Do They Do It?

Give students the illustratedHow a Seedless Watermelon Is

ade page. Discuss the stepshat lead to a seedless water-elon. Use the glossary that

s provided in this guide.

Research

Seedless fruits and vegetablesave been developed for consumeronsumption. These new andmproved varieties offer a wideange from which to select and toesearch. Give students Making

Better Plants. This reproduc-

ble serves as a starting pointor exploration of the seedlessvarieties that have been devel-

ped and some of the individualswho have been involved.

Give students Not a SeedyOne in the Bunch. This activitynvolves Internet research

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

LOSSARY

Some important words about plant breeding

DiploidDIP-loid Havin a air of each t e of

DNA,

pronouced de-OX-e RI-bo-nu-clay-ic acid). Thefamous basic strands of life. DNA carries codedinformation about what characteristics livingthings will pass on, in its unique ladder shape.i

Chromosomes(pronounced CROE-ma-somes) The parts of livingi

ells that are made up of bundles of DNA and

protein inside cells. Chromosomes carry DNAsode on genes. Human cells have 23 pairs ofhromosomes. Regular watermelon plants have 22

pairs and seedless ones have 33 pairs.

Gene(JEAN) Genes are the basic unit of heredity. Traits,such as whether a watermelon has seeds or not,

re determined by the information carried in genesChromosomes can contain hundreds of genes..

Genetics(je-NET-ix) The branch of science that studies howtraits are passed on

Heredity(heh-RED-i-tee). Passing on biological traits or

haracteristics from parents to offspring (includingiparent plants) by passing on genes

Parthenocarpy

(PAR-th-no-kar-pe) The production of f ruit withouti

fertilization

Pollination

(POL-eh-na-shun) Transfer of pollen from an anther

to a stigma of the same flower

Tetraploid

(TET-ra-ploid) A cell having four chromosome sets


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October 25, 2005

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2


skills and the disciplines of science,

economics, and language arts. Youmay wish to include knowledge ofthe vocabulary terms found in thesidebar of this guide. Questions thatthe research will address include:

What is the history of andscience behind the development ofseedless fruits and vegetables?

What is the economic andenvironmental impact of theresearch and development?

What countries and scientistshave been involved in development?

What other fruits and vegetableshave the potential to be seedless?

EurekAlert has a section of newsfor kids. This site is a good startingpoint for research on recent develop-ments and discoveries in science.

Take it to the Bank

Examine the economics involved indevelopment of seedless fruits and vege-tables. Areas of consideration include:

Why would horticulturists want todevelop seedless fruits and vegetables?This would include no requirementto pollinate, reduced dependenceon bees and warm weather.

What costs are involved inbreeding new varieties or improvingolder strains? What is involvedin research and development?

Who benefits frommarketing, distribution and avail-ability of new varieties?

What environmental benefitsand drawbacks are involved?

Create a Recipe

Seedless fruits and vegetables arepresented in the finest restaurants,served at family dinners and tuckedinto brown bag lunches. Give studentsRevisiting Melon. This Post Foodsection article and recipe inspired theactivity that follows. Provide studentswith a list of seedless fruits and vege-

tables (See Not a Seedy One in theBunch or have them do some researchto create the list). Students may be

divided into four groups to create thefollowing types of dishes. Each recipeshould use two or more seedless fruitsand/or vegetables. Remind studentsto consider flavor and coloring in theirrecipes; for example, seedless grapesare white, red and black in color.

Depending on your course, studentsmay even be asked to prepare thedishes according to their recipes.Provide information on the nutri-tional value of each dish. Classmembers could sample each dish.

Give an award for the best dish. Create a recipe for a dish to be

served at a formal dinner. Prepare orillustrate a centerpiece for the tableusing seedless fruits and vegetables.

Devise a recipe for a dish to beserved at a family dinner. Prepare ordraw a picture of the table setting.

Create a dessert recipe using twoor more seedless fruits. Prepare or illus-trate the dessert as it would be served.

Create a brown bag lunch dishthat students would enjoy eating andbe healthy for them. Craft or drawa picture of the lunch bag and thecontainer that would hold the dish.

What Else?

1. What novelty vegetables exist andwhich would you like to breed? Howabout carrots that are yellow, maroonor red? They exist. What about fruits?Would you like blackberry busheswithout thorns? They exist. Read aboutthem, then think of something new.

2. Phytochemicals are naturalcompounds that prevent disease. Whatresearch is being done on modifyingthe content of vegetables to containmore or some phytochemicals? Whatif certain diseases could be stoppedor slowed and health improved byeating more of these new varieties?

3. Pretend that you are the makerof candy-coated raisins. Why might

you be interested in the develop-ment of a sweet, seedless grape?

4. Learn more about the U.S.Department of Agricultureworld seed collection.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

Resources

www.eurekalert.orgEurekAlert

This global news agency of

t e American Association for

the Advancement of Science

(AAAS) is a clearinghouse for

news and the latest science

information from universities,

medical centers, journals,

government agencies,

corporations and other

agencies engaged in research.

www.usda.govU.S. Department of Agriculture

Articles, reports, research

inc u ing growing an

marketing of U.S. farm and

ranch products. Begun in

1862, t e USDA was ca e

the peoples Department by

President Lincoln since 58

percent of the people were

farmers who needed good

seeds and information to grow

their crops.

www.mypyramid.gov

My Pyramid

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

educational material for

elementary school teachers.

Poster, essons, wor s eets

and CD.


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October 25, 2005

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5

How Do You Grow Seedless Watermelon?edless watermelons as the mules of the vegetable

hat you get when a male donkey mates with a. Mules are born sterile, which means they cannotwhen they grow up. The only way to make moretart over with a donkey and a horse.atermelons work the same way. They are thewo different kinds of watermelon plants. Theseare healthy as a mule, not to mention sweet andt like mules, they cant make more of themselves.r gardener must start from scratch each year.oing experiments in Japan made the firstrmelons about 70 years ago. But in some

e the fruit of 5,000 years of work. Thats howave been growing -- and gradually improving --as part of an age-old human effort to make better

h the scientific specialty known as plant breeding.rieties were full of seeds. But with a water contentercent they were incredibly valuable to nomads inrican and Middle Eastern deserts, who used themnteens. Some Egyptian pharaohs were buriedelons, to serve as snacks in the afterlife., regular watermelons have up to 1,000 seeds pers great if youre in the mood to do some spitting,f you want to scarf down mouthfuls of sugary,h.ad another reason to get rid of the seeds: The

surrounding the seeds is the first to get mushylon ages. A seedless watermelon, they reckoned,eet and fresh longer.

anese scientists about 15 years of complexeriments to come up with a melon that wass. They did it by crossing two varieties with verybers of chromosomes, which are the bundles ofells. Today seedless varieties account for morell watermelon sales in the United States. (Thoseings you see are the shrunken outer husks of the

ver were, and are fine to eat.)

elons are generally sweeter than ordinary melons,se all that energy that would have gone intos can instead go into making sugar.nts keep coming. A new variety of seedlesss as small as a softball -- making it easy to pack inhas a rind that, although very thin, is so strong

-year-olds with very good balance could stand onbreaking it.e to think of it, could be as much fun as spitting

seeds.By Rick Weiss


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October 25, 2005

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6

Kids tend to look like their moms and dads, and the same ruleapplies to plants.

The passing of traits from generation to generation is calledheredity. And the field of science that focuses on the rules ofheredity is called genetics. For thousands of years, farmers and

gardeners have taken advantage ofthe rules of heredity to create new

lants with bigger and sweeterfruits and with greater resistance to

isease, drought and insect pests.Scientists who do this are called

lant breeders.These scientists use pollen from the best male plants

to fertilize the best female plants. They have broughtus big juicy ears of corn (varieties from several hundredyears ago were about the size of your thumb) andblackberry bushes that dont have thorns.

n recent years, scientists have learned how tomake new plant varieties even more efficiently by geneticengineering. They insert or delete pieces of DNA, the geneticmaterial that is packed inside a plants chromosomes. Amongtheir results: corn plants that make insect-killing chemicals intheir leaves, so farmers dont have to spray them, and soybeansthat will not die when farmers accidentally splash them withweed killers.

But those advances bring new concerns too. Pollen from someof these plants has already spread accidentally to nearby weeds,making those weeds stronger. Scientists are now developingways to keep new plant traits where they belong.

MEET A PLANT BREEDERKim Lewers used to play around in

her yard, sprinkling dust-like par-

ticles of pollen from one flower ontoanother so new flowers with novelcolor combinations would pop upthe next spring. She went on to geta graduate degree in plant breedingand today she works for the Depart-ment of Agricultures Fruit Labora-tory in Beltsville, Maryland.

Plant breeding is the greatest

thing! she says. Of course, she adds, notevery experiment works. Sometimes youend up wth a fruit or a flower thats worse

than what you started with. Thats oneof the fun things about it. You never knowquite what youll get.

Heres a helpful hint from Kims years ofbreeding fruits for better flavor: If yourepicking strawberries or other fruits toeat, pick them around 4 in the afternoon.Thats when the fruit is producing themost sugars, she says.

SD

Kim Lewers works for theUSDAs Fruit Laboratory.

aking Better Plants

Biology of a watermelon

Cell

DNA

hromosome

Y

WH WO


7/9

Apant

ree

ertreatstesee

ing

ofanormal(seeded)watermeon

withafew

ropsofachemical.A

normalwatermelonhas22

chromosomes.

Thechemical

doublesthatplantschr

omo

some

to44

.

2

Bees

aepoen

rom

anorma

22-c

romosomepantan

po

inatete

33-c

romosomewatermeo

pant.T

ew

.

.

atermeon

tatgr

w

ar

esee

ess.

Finally

33-c

hromosomeseeds

33x

plant

3xlan

44xlnt

hewaermelonseedswith33chromosomesarethenplanted.

Theygrow

into33-c

hromosomeplants

,whicha

themule

tepant

ing

om.

33x

plant

3

WHEW!

1

Theseedlinggrow

intoaplantwhose

flowersh

ve

44chromosomes.

Beesfertilizetheplan

withpollenfrom

anormal,

22-c

hromosomewatermelon

plant.

Seedsinsidethe

esulting

w

termelonhave33chromosomes.

44xlnt

2x

p

t

HowaSeedlessWatermelonisMade

Pickingityourself?Fouroclockinthe

afternoonisthebesttim

etopicka

watermelon(samewith

strawberries

andotherfruits).Thats

whenthesugar

contentisatitshighest

.

Scientificallyspeaking,

watermelons

arebothfruitsANDvegetables.

The

plantsthemselvesarev

egetables(their

closestrelativesaresquash,pump-

kinsandgourds)butthepartyoueat

isthefruitingbody(o

rreproduc

tiveorgan)ofthatvege

tableplant.

Thereareseveralwaystoproduceseedlessfruitsandvegetables.Manyare

anexceptiontothenorma

lfertilizationprocess.

Creationofseedlesswater-

melonsrequiresseedsand

po

llination,

andmakesuseofparth

enocarpy.

Plantbreedersarebusyas

beesproducingtriploidandtetraploidseeds.


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October 25, 2005

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You might have eaten seedless fruitsin your lunch or on a picnic. Yourmother may be fond of using seedlessvegetables in favorite recipes. Youmight even find them mentioned innews articles such as one recent onethat reported:

Sure, its scary to find black widowson store-bought grapes. But foodsafety specialists and growers say thepoisonous spiders are less frighteningthan the alternative: a return to harsherpesticides.

At least three people found thespiders on bunches of red seedlessgrapes from California purchasedrecently at separate Shawssupermarkets in suburbs west ofBoston.

ot a Seedy One in the Bunch

Apple

Banana

Cantaloupe

Cucumber

Eggplant (aubergine)

Grapefruit

Grapes (white, red, black)

Green peppers

Orange

Pineapple

Tangerine

Tomato

Washington Navel orange

Waterme on

You are about to become an expert on one seedless fruit or vegetable. Select one of the items listed below

that can be bought in a seedless variety.

Your research should include the following: What is the history of and science behind the

development of the seedless fruit or vegetable? Isresearch completed or still in the development stage?

What countries and scientists have been involvedin its development?

What scientific method, genetic modification ornatural function was used in creating this seedlessfruit or vegetable?

What other fruits and vegetables have theotential to be seedless using the same method? What is the environmental, economic, scientific

and cultural impact of the research, geneticngineering and development?


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VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2


Revisiting Melon

By Stephanie Witt Sedgwick

Every year we have a Fourth of Julyparty, and every year someone brings awatermelon. Some years it rains, someyears its clear. The guest list changes,but the watermelon always shows up.

ts been a sort of guessing game inour house to wager on whos bringingthe melon. With the chicken frying,the salads made and brownies piledhigh, one could say the watermelon has

always been, well, unwelcome.This year, looking at the sugar baby

sitting on the counter, I decided to giveit a second chance. The melon couldbe sliced and placed on the buffet asalways, but there had to be more to dowith it than that.

After all, watermelons attributes gobeyond a cooling, thirst-quenching sliceof something on a hot summer night.Weight Watchers has recently beentouting its nutritive benefits as a fat-free, low-calorie, vitamin- and mineral-packed food as well as its versatility asan ingredient. It was time for anotherlook.

t has vitamins C, A, B6 and thiamineas well as lycopene as much as40 percent more of this antioxidant.According to the Agricultural ResearchService, scientists have found thatlycopene in the diet correlates witha reduced incidence of certain typesof cancer. And lycopene levels in fattissue an indicator of lycopene

consumption have been linked witha reduced risk of heart attacks.Plus, one cup of watermelon contains

a total of 48 fat-free calories.Once I got to thinking, the

possibilities unfolded:The fruit can be pureed for a

refreshing drink, a summer soup or asthe basis for a low-fat salad dressing.

Grilled slices can serve as an ediblebase for poached fish. When diced, thefruit mixes well in chicken, seafood andfruit salads.

Cooked down, watermelon can enrichglazes, barbecue sauces and be used tosweeten all manner of things such asiced tea.

For dessert, slices can be layeredwith sorbet to create an alternative icecream sandwich or with fruit for acakeless trifle.

Watermelon, our unwelcome guest,might just turn out to be the life of theparty.

Shrimp and Watermelon Salad

4 servingsHere, ites of waterme on taste great

with shrimp that has a little heat. If youd

rather use a grill pan on the stove to cook

the shrimp, skip the bamboo skewers.

Adapted from Delicious Salad Meals, by Dot

Vartan (Dorothy Jean Publishing, 2005).

2 tablespoons Mexican seasoning (may

substitute a mixture of cumin, dried

onion, chili pepper and garlic powder)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 dozen jumbo shrimp, peeled,

deveined and tails removed

2 cups cu e , see e waterme on

One 20-ounce can pineapple chunks, drained

1/4 cup diced green or yellow bell pepper

1 teaspoon fine y c oppe an see e

jalapeno pepper (optional)

1/2 cup peeled and diced seedless cucum

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 cups torn romaine lettuce

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Have ready 8 bamboo skewers thathave been thoroughly soaked in wat

On a large plate, combine theMexican seasoning and cinnamon.Dredge the shrimp in the seasonings,and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine thewatermelon, pineapple, bell pepper,jalapeno pepper, if desired, andcucumber. Cover and refrigerate.

In a small bowl, whisk together thelime juice, soy sauce, honey and oliveoil until well combined; set aside.

When ready to cook the shrimp,

prepare the grill. If using a gas grill,preheat the grill to medium-high.If using a charcoal grill, start thecharcoal or wood briquettes. Whenthe briquettes are ready, distributethe heated charcoal evenly under thecooking area for direct heat. Be sure tooil the grate with nonstick spray oil.

Thread the shrimp onto the soakedbamboo skewers and grill, turning oncefor 5 to 6 minutes or until the shrimpare just opaque. Remove the shrimpfrom the skewers.

Divide the lettuce among individualplates and place the shrimp andwatermelon mixture on the lettuce.Drizzle the dressing on top, andsprinkle with the chopped cilantro.Serve immediately.

Per serving: 306 calories, 27 g protein,

39 g carbohydrates, 7 g fat, 172 mg

c o estero , 1 g saturate fat, 481

mg sodium, 5 g dietary fiber

July 25, 2005

Watermelon Final

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