• The Giant KoreanEnglish
      10•5 months ago

      They’re often treated with hormones.

      I sort of misspoke with regard to watermelons -

      Seedless watermelons are created by crossing a regular watermelon with 22 chromosomes with one that’s been chemically treated to have 44 chromosomes. The resulting hybrid has 33 chromosomes, making it sterile and seedless.

      • @dondelelcaro@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2•5 months ago

        This is a bit misleading. You only need to treat the first generation of 2n watermelon with colchicine (which inhibits the movement of chromosomes during metaphase) to produce a 4n watermelon. Once you have a 4n watermelon, subsequent generations do not require colchicine treatment.