right
right
 
 
NWA Store is Open... Click Here
  NWA Store is Open...Click Here
Login:
Password:
 

Here is what people are saying about the NWA:
  • “The NWA has been invaluable to Multicorr in our marketing efforts. We are newcomers to the watermelon industry (3 years) and have found the Vineline a key marketing tool to easily reach our core audience. The NWA offers a proven and effective platform for entertaining our existing customers and spending quality time with our targeted potential customers. Through the NWA – we continue to grow our produce bin business.”
    John Goodloe,
    Vice President
  • “The NWA Transportation Program is a service designed specifically for our shippers that is managed and operated on behalf of NWA by C. H. Robinson Worldwide. It provides extensive regional capacity capability, competitive rates, 24/7/365 communication and sophisticated logistics cost analysis tools. The program is a bottom line value that assists our members in retaining existing customers and growing new business opportunities.”
    Jim Schmidt
  • “What does the NWA do for its members? This is something that I live by in my business.
    The difference is in ‘We’ and ‘I’.
    ‘I’ is one, and ‘We’ are many with the NWA. We promote and work on all issues affecting the watermelon business together, and We improve our companies and the watermelon business as a whole.”
    Nowell Borders –
    Borders Melons
  • “As an allied member of the National Watermelon Association, International Paper is proud of its support and participation in the association. The NWA provides both outstanding leadership in the produce category and great opportunities for allied members like IP to interface with the membership of the association, many of which are our customers. Whether it is a product safety issue involving packaging, promotion opportunities, or other industry trends, the NWA provides its membership with real time information for the betterment of the industry. Thanks NWA.”
    Jim Mastropietro – International Paper
  • “The most important thing to me in the NWA is networking with the people who attend and support the industry through their unselfish contributions, year after year, whether through mere attendance, service, donations, ideas, or love of the industry. They are the glue that holds this industry and this Association together, and allows a group to do more positive good than we, as individuals, can do separately. The members, with special emphasis given to board members and officers, committee members, and others willing to sacrifice personal interest for overall industry health and growth, are the backbone of the Association and the industry. That allows us to have a more organized, better, healthy, and growing industry. That is why I support NWA.”
    Anita Field –
    Wabash Valley Growers
  • “The NWA helps any person, Grower, Company, or group that needs help with any segment of the watermelon industry.”
    Tommy Smith –
    Labelle, Florida
  • “From promotions to safety issues to simply bringing us together, and acting as the mouthpiece of all the vital pieces of the American watermelon industry, the National Watermelon Association is a vital and dynamic organization. Nunhems USA recognizes this fact -- which is why we expend significant energy and a large portion of our marketing budget year after year ensuring the highest visibility to the breadth of the NWA: how they touch, and greatly benefit, virtually every segment of the watermelon chain.”
    Travis Estvold -
    Nunhems USA
  • “The NWA is the Strength, Heart, and Soul of the Watermelon Industry. Through the voluntary effort of networking together, growers, shippers, and associates continue to keep Watermelon at the forefront of the produce industry insuring infrastructure from Farm to Consumer.”
    Greg Leger –
    Leger & Son
  • “During the 2012 season there was an outbreak of salmonella in cantaloupe in southern Indiana close to where watermelons were being shipped. The information that NWA was able to obtain and quickly got out to its members allowed us to be proactive with our customers and helped us to keep shipping.”
    Chris Bloebaum –
    Delta Fresh Sales
  • “Without the NWA, I wouldn't be known in the NASCAR world as "Melon". This seemingly meaningless nickname has enabled us to capture a much larger audience's attention than the average racer with the average sponsor.
    "Watermelons" and "NASCAR" were not associated with each other in the past. Well, together we are changing that. With help from the NWA, we are putting watermelons on the forefront of NASCAR fans’ minds across the country and Canada.
    When fans see me at a NASCAR race, they don't have to look very far to see watermelons, and of course a watermelon queen. The queen program is another advantage that we utilize to put watermelons on the top of NASCAR fans’ weekly grocery lists.”
    Ross Chastain –
    NASCAR Driver
Membership
Weather
 
NWA History | Watermelon Story | State Chapters | Membership
 

The Watermelon Story

Scientists believe the watermelon originated in tropical Africa, although it was found cultivated in Italy, India and Southern Asia. Europeans introduced the watermelon into America and it is now cultivated from Chile to the United States.

Watermelon comes in many sizes, shapes and colors. Some are red inside; others are yellow. Some have seeds; other do not. The watermelon is the fruit of a large vine which grows flat on the ground. The watermelon, with vines which grow from twelve to fifteen feet, is part of the same family as Pumpkins, cucumbers and squash, although the watermelon fruit is larger than any of these plants.

The stem or vine of the watermelon plant branches in many directions, with leaves that are large and numerous, developing several inches apart on alternate sides along the stem. The watermelon flower is not very showy and must be pollinated, generally by honey bees, to produce fruit.

Watermelon varies in size from the 5 pound 'Sugar Baby' to the 'Jubilee' which can weigh as much as 40 pounds. The fruit is round, oblong or elliptical, with the outside color varying from solid dark green to mottled or striped green, to nearly white. The color pattern is inherited and typical of a particular kind of watermelon. Different kinds of watermelon have different colored seeds (ranging from white, brown or black) and different colored pulp.

Watermelon fruit is about ninety percent water and the pulp is sweet. There are many varieties of watermelon, and when growing watermelon it is best to choose a variety adaptable to your particular area, although some varieties grow well in all areas. Watermelons require a good soil, with well-fertilized sand or sandy loam being the best. Watermelons require a warm soil for growth and should be planted ten to twelve feet apart in rows ten to twelve feet apart. They also need to be planted in beds raised six to twelve inches to allow for drainage from rains and irrigation, which should be done by soaking, not sprinkling which damages the leaves. It takes the watermelon plant eighty to ninety-five days to become full grown and it is ready for harvest when the part of the rind touching the ground changes from white to pale yellow.

Produced by the National Watermelon Association, Inc., 5129 South Lakeland Drive, Suite 1, Lakeland, Florida 33813.
 
Copyright © 2006 National Watermelon Association. All Rights Reserved.
NWPB | Contact Us
This website was designed and built by . To find out how Sundia can help your business, click here.