Origin of watermelons is Northeast Africa, a new study talks about it. Now, a team of researchers conducted a study to clear away various ambiguities about the origin of the fruit. And they published their study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS). For nine decades, they had placed the fruit in the same category of South African citron melons. But the recent study at the Washington University in St. Louis reveals that the origin of watermelons is Northeast Africa. And a Kordon melon, which is a non-bitter whitish pulp, is the nearest kin of the regular watermelons.

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Origin of Watermelons is Northeast Africa- the DNA technique.

The team and the scientists have, used DNA techniques to find out about the variety of watermelons we consume today. Susanne S. Renner is a professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at the Washington University. She quotes, “Based on DNA, we found that watermelons as we know them today—with sweet, often red pulp that can be eaten raw—were genetically closest to wild forms from West Africa and northeast Africa”. Though Renner until now has focused mainly on melons and cucumbers, for the past decade, her focus shifted to watermelons and bitter gourds. Her other colleagues include from various genres like the Department of Agriculture in Ithaca, Royal Botanic Gardens in London, and also the University of Sheffield.

Key takeaways of the study:

Now, one of the most important key takeaways from the study of the origin of watermelons is their evolvement with time. And Renner stressed that people moving from one place to another and their cultural intermingling have affected watermelons’ evolvement. In addition to this, she also said that what must have been missing a few decades ago is now available in the form of ready genetic information. Above all, this can be well put to use to produce more disease-resistant watermelons.