Inbred tetraploid watermelon line 90-4194

A method to produce a triploid hybrid watermelon seed, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

• a) planting in pollinating proximity (1) seeds of a tetraploid female parent watermelon plant, wherein said seeds of said tetraploid female parent watermelon plant are seeds of tetraploid watermelon line 90-4194, seed of said watermelon line having been deposited under ATCC Accession No:PTA-4855, or seeds producing watermelon plants having all the physiological and morphological characteristics of said tetraploid watermelon line 90-4194 and (2) seeds of a diploid male parent watermelon plant, wherein said seeds of the diploid male parent watermelon plant are planted 7 to 10 days earlier than said seeds of the tetraploid female parent watermelon plant
• b) cultivating watermelon plants resulting from said seeds of the diploid male parent watermelon plant and said seeds of the tetraploid female parent watermelon plant until said plants bear second female flowers;
• c) covering the female flowers of said tetraploid female parent watermelon plant on the afternoon immediately prior to the day said female flowers open;
• d) collecting the male flowers of said diploid male parent watermelon plant in early morning on the day said female flowers open;
• e) pollinating said female flowers with said male flowers collected in step d);
• and
• f) harvesting seeds produced from said female flowers pollinated in step e).

A method to produce triploid watermelon seed, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

• a) planting seed of female parent tetraploid watermelon line 90-4194 and seed of a diploid male parent watermelon plant in a field;
• b) cultivating watermelon plants resulting from said seeds;
• c) emasculating the male flowers and male flower buds on the plants of said female parent tetraploid watermelon line 90-419;
• d) allowing pollination of the female flowers of said female parent tetraploid watermelon 90-4194 with the pollen of said male parent watermelon plant;
• e) marking the fruit of the pollinated female flowers to produce marked fruit;
• and
• f) harvesting the seed from the marked fruit.