How Do Seedless Watermelons Reproduce?

Seedless watermelons are basically the best thing ever. But they’re also a delicious paradox. Seeds are a key part of plant reproduction. So how do you breed a plant that doesn’t make any seeds?
Hosted by: Hank Green
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Sources:
naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/C...
news.nationalgeographic.com/2...
extensionpublications.unl.edu/...
learn.genetics.utah.edu/conte...
www.crops.org/about-crop-scie...
www2.palomar.edu/users/warmst...
link.springer.com/article/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/...
www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/pbg/
link.springer.com/chapter/10....
aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/n...
www.uaex.edu/yard-garden/reso...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Image Sources:
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[@Pile_of_carbon]

Ah SciShow! Always answering the questions I didn't know I wanted answers for.

[@Master_Therion]

1:00 Mutation Breeding: Thousands of mutations to find that "one in a melon."

[@LuinTathren]

LMAO

[@philiptremblay4599]

Oh ouch! Pah dum pum tish! Rimshot.

[@Willam_J]

That was punny! :-)

[@DunnickFayuro]

Seedless to say, that was a good one ;P

[@chairmeme6231]

Nice

[@Karnegis]

Most modern plant varieties were developed by using radiation or mutagens. Modern genetic engineering just speeds up the process by eliminating all the crossbreeding and putting the alleles you want in one organism. Unfortunately GMO’s have a bad reputation because most people don’t understand how plant breeding works. Domestication changes the genetics of organisms be it a corn plant or your dog that used to be a wolf.

[@michaelesposito2629]

Yeah. The problem is, when you mix your dog genome with your corn. Because we all know mixing genes from two completely different types of species is totally normal.

[@thebadger4040]

@@michaelesposito2629 What?

[@hyrulphicsound]

@@michaelesposito2629 As I understand it, humanity derive about 8% of our genome from ancient viruses. Like viruses infected our cells and left their DNA behind and we incorporated it into our genome and passed the DNA on. What more, the viral DNA that got passed on appears to be quite beneficial to us. For example, mitochondria, the powerhouse of our cells, are thought to have some sort of viral origin. If the concern with GMOs is that we're mixing genes from different species in a fashion perceived to be abnormal-- well apparently nature got to that way ahead of us. Watch this SciShow video for more info: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJ67aZSrZd16ors

[@DogeTeamCaptain]

Jeff Goldblum - "Life uh...finds a way"

[@evaristegalois6282]

Seedless watermelons don’t reproduce. Or do they? **plays VSauce music**

[@NerdOutWithMe]

Automatic ear worm.

[@christianheichel]

Queue Michaels dancing and off key singing/humming.... lol

[@brokenacoustic]

Hey, VSauce, watermelon here!

[@sohopedeco]

That sounds so much like an homophobic statement.

[@dontknowdontcare1934]

Bru keep your weeb pfp away from my science channel

[@kittybeans8192]

What I wanna know is how they make watermelon-less seeds, like the watermelon seed packs you buy in the garden center WITH NO WATERMELON! Freakin' magic, I tellz ya!

[@kahoaalohamalalis8841]

Didn't you watch the video? Your answer was there, no magic required.

[@CrashM85]

@@kahoaalohamalalis8841 Did you read his comment fully? he was asking about watermelon-less seeds not seedless watermelons.

[@razvanmocanumsi7631]

@@kahoaalohamalalis8841 r/woooosh

[@willowarkan2263]

I'd like to think it's a sunflower that grows melon seeds instead.

[@sergiontothetop]

It i tap ur comment it lags my phone wtf it takes me to a cat video and you are saying: 0:40 give me food, hooman Idk my phone is idiot

[@bjarnes.4423]

I don't mind seeds in water melons. But I HATE seeds in gapes!

[@She_loud_in_every_movie]

Wtf is wrong with you

[@mftripz8445]

I also hate when I leave seed in ur gape

[@shyhrk]

I liked it because I thought it was grapes....

[@Toastmaster_5000]

I don't really like grape seeds much either, but, they are oddly very healthy.

[@TitanUranusOfficial]

Why are you raisin this issue?

[@BrandonGraham]

Seedless watermelons seem to have less flavor/texture potential than a "normal" watermelon... all while actually having those white soggy seed carcasses in them. No thanks bruh

[@tacitus7797]

Came here to say this - unfortunately the American public buys mostly seedless now so its hard to find seeded in the stores - in my area.

[@ryanchampney2637]

I grew my own last year. Best watermelons I've ever had.

[@MrCrashDavi]

I just swallow the seeds. Never had a problem.

[@peterjf7723]

@@MrCrashDavi I like chewing the seeds.

[@chudcel88]

im sorry but seeds are big smellies

[@DyslexicMitochondria]

Yet another amazing video. Informative as well as entertaining. As a content creator, I highly admire your videos. Keep up the good work!

[@sterlingarcher8041]

yas

[@Mike504]

Glad to see a much greater concentration of Hank videos on Sci show channel in past months. Also check out the Sci show episode that shows everything wrong with GMOs

[@sooooooooDark]

1:06 "plants r exposed to something that induces changes to their genome" sounds.....totally safe and edible to me!

[@sjoerdwennekes]

If the definition of GMO would be changed to also include these watermelons, would there then be any fruit or vegetable left that isn’t a GMO?

[@YdenMk-II]

That's one of of the arguments in the GMO debate. Pretty much all modern crops have been modified in some way from their original form so the whole GMO label is pretty arbitrary.

[@brantwedel]

well, selection vs mutation is a good line, where selection follows a possible "natural" progression of a plant species, just sped up, mutation is more "artificial" ... idk about grafting tho, that's just strange, lol.

[@kittybeans8192]

If we're being literal, everything is literally a genetically modified version of its parent(s) (except sometimes), so I think what makes more sense is just labelling how something was modified: a GMO label for radiation, a label for artificial selection, a label for CRISPR... I'm not sure it matters much, but maybe it'll make some people happier? I dunno.

[@wes_d]

The whole conversation about GMOs is mostly wasted breath :-)

[@xponen]

the current definition of GMOs include the process of inserting alien/foreign DNA into the plant, in which the plant don't ever develop naturally. Old-school GMOs is like Dogs; they came from wolf but now they are like a hairier and miniature wolf, but modern GMOs is like a Dogs that can speak (like human) or have infrared eyes (like a snake) or a double-coat fur (like russian blue, cat). One example is when Scientist made goldfish that glow in the dark (contain jellyfish DNA), you won't find a glowing goldfish even if you mutate a thousand generation.

[@peterjf7723]

Seedless watermelons do not taste as good as seeded watermelons, also watermelon seeds are perfectly fine, actually enjoyable to eat. I would never by choice eat seedless watermelons.

[@EpicEternal2]

The texture of the seeded watermelon is also better, juicier and more brittle and melts in your mouth. The seedless watermelon is comparably chewy.

[@Halistree]

I never thought I'd disagree with Hank, but he can go to the hell. The joy of spitting seeds is the height of childhood.

[@jmarvosa6x3]

seedless melons cannot compare in taste to seeded.

[@JonasAnandaKristiansson]

OFC, seedless fruit is garbage

[@Narnendil]

This was great! More interesting stuff like this, please!

[@stimproid]

Seedless watermelons , square watermelons, great rock music...Thanks Japan 😀

[@tammyelizabeth5157]

Yah Baby Metal

[@stimproid]

@@tammyelizabeth5157 I like Baby Metal "Karate" .....but Band Maid is my passion :-)

[@LuinTathren]

I've always wondered about that. Thanks for sharing!

[@ssj4gogeta77]

I’ve been wondering this for years without the motivation to research it

[@mktemple476]

I know people who strongly dislike sedless watermelons because they don't taste as good. And part of the fun with eatting watermelon is the seed spitting contests!

[@trinity_null]

I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS

[@hersheyfrank4346]

Love you lots thanks for educating us

[@bjarnes.4423]

It's called "Spontaneous generation".

[@wijione8083]

its called fu

[@itschrisuphere]

LOVED this topic! So cool

[@xxj229mxx3]

THANK YOU!!! I’ve always wondered this

[@EmilyJelassi]

Thanks for this video! I've often wondered how they do this...

[@CEH3]

Wow. You got it totally correct, and this is a breath of science fresh air! kudos.

[@grizzerotwofour7858]

Ill add that tidbit at the end to my list of reasons GMO is a meaningless term

[@Fkazuo24]

How can we have watermelon seed fights without the seeds?!

[@crazykaspmovies]

On a related note, it'd be interesting if you could do an episode about atomic gardening. Because the idea of atomic gardening just seems so interesting/hilarious. Especialy because the crops it created are widely farmed even today.

[@ULTRAVISTA.]

The answer I've always needed.

[@CoughE]

_They get under the covers and have the time of their lives_

[@mommyof166]

The best explanation!

[@kalez238]

Idk about the best thing ever. All seedless watermelons I've had barely have any taste compared to watermelons with seeds. I actually prefer them with seeds due to this. Hardly an annoyance for the flavor.

[@peterjf7723]

I agree, seedless watermelons are always disappointing, the seeded ones are much better.

[@penguin_reader_yt9510]

Yeah good point

[@sapandream]

Love ur work

[@211teitake]

That Japanese scientist is Hitoshi Kihara. Respect, SciShow crew. Why was it so hard to mention his name? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitoshi_Kihara

[@damonkey01]

Making science understandable for everyone as you guys do, it's something humankind will never be able pay you back.

[@eCitizen1]

Nice. I always wondered about that.

[@Dr.Contra]

You guys are awesome ))

[@christianheichel]

If I can pull off a massive genetically engendered plant via breeding ( that's copacetic man ) but God forbid I use crispr to achieve the same results. People will freak out about GMOs ( ooooooooh! ) in spooky voice

[@ferencivanics9980]

Yes, but with the "old school" breeding you never cross strawberry's with sardines or bacteria's. The serious problem with GMO is not the human consumption. It is the pollen with the exotic DNA, flying in to the wild. Finding the wild relatives of our noble plants. Interfering with complicated fragile systems on the basic level sounds hazardous.

[@christianheichel]

@@ferencivanics9980 that may be but how's it different than anything else we've done and then reacted post humously P.S. said plants are usually made sterile. no virulent seeds pollen or whatever you have. The farmers have to buy said product/seeds or what have you from the company year after year they can't just get seeds that will grow from the plant they just grew. Corns a big one mile after mile of those fields and in one year you'd have no corn except for the one or two that didn't germinate the first year and managed to make it through the winter and germinate the next year.

[@ferencivanics9980]

@@christianheichel Non viable pollen is an option, but it is not 100% secure. I am not an expert and my knowing about this GMO stuff is minimal. I was just accidentally reading some "serious" post about this GMO pollen "danger". I think the monsanto soja has viable pollen, and it creates a totally different problem with copyright issues. I don't know if there is any wild soja relative in the nature, and I have no idea what and how much genetic "junktions" the glyphosate resistance gene has , that will be expressed after x generations in the wild soja (if there is any) . I just have this bad feeling...fast-grand profit and small careful-cautious baby steps are not compatible.

[@TitanUranusOfficial]

I've forced triploids to breed and produce viable seed using auxins (plant hormones, like the one found in rooting powder). I wanted to use colchicine for some of my experiments, but it's expensive and difficult to find in the USA. I also force chimearism using chemical means to make host plants support introduced cells of other plants until they're established throughout the tissue of the organism. Anyone who thinks bio-hacking, as well as more traditional means of altering plants, wasn't going on before CRISPR just hasn't studied it.

[@ferencivanics9980]

@@TitanUranusOfficial Genetic biohacking on interspecies level? It is not about CRISPR, or gene gun, or biochemical method's. It is GMO vs. classical cross breading. The very slow, but safe and stable vs. the very fast but...some believe it is without any significant side effect, and some say it is the armageddon. I just simply think, we need to be very careful. More interesting field is the human manipulation. Imagine the future dictator.

[@Exail01]

I miss seeds in my watermelons. I remember as a child having fun spitting them out as I eat the flesh. I’m not sure if it’s nostalgia or not but I remember the seeded ones being more flavourful than the seedless ones.

[@clarence145]

Thanks for the informative vid. I was high af eating a seedless melon and this question hit me.

[@deviousxen]

'For Some Reason.' LOL

[@LadyPenumbra]

Awesome! I had no idea it was so complicated. I thought they just used plant grafting... somehow...

[@antiisocial]

Everything we eat is GMO.

[@carmencitaionescu]

so

[@pranavlimaye]

YOU, my friend, are a GMO yourself 👏👏👏👏👏

[@Araanor]

I hunt my food

[@lilj4818]

Araanor In a way every living thing on earth has been modified by our existence. We’ve changed the world so much that basically everything faces different selecting pressures than it would have in the past. Therefore we’ve hijacked evolution and impacted all of the genomes. GMOs everywhere.

[@Araanor]

​@@lilj4818 true in that way all living things pressure each other to modify their genes, so in this way everything is GMO.

[@calcaware]

Wow. I had no idea. I just assumed they had a variety that had to wait longer for the seeds to develop and they harvested them when ripe, but still underdeveloped.

[@dexis9412]

“Chemically treated melon Mum” Nicest thing anyone has ever told her. Thanks scishow.

[@Tst1359]

I read the title and I was like wow, what a good question haha

[@gipen]

We don't eat those tasteless sh!ts here in Chile, we eat real ultra sweet full of seeds enormous watermelons :D

[@peterjf7723]

Same in Turkey.

[@baffling_bookworm]

A fantastic video talking about an interesting topic, as always. It's just a shame it was posted the day after my exam on plant breeding.

[@johnopalko5223]

Maybe it's my imagination but I don't think seedless watermelons taste as good as the seeded varieties. It's like they're more sweet with less flavor. Of course, it seems like a lot of fruits are being bred to increase sweetness at the expense of actual flavor. It's too bad kids today don't have the opportunity to experience the joy of accumulating a mouthful of watermelon seeds and machine-gunning them out through their lips at each other. Ah, nostalgia!

[@peterjf7723]

I agree, seedless watermelons are always disappointing, the seeded ones are much better.

[@turtle4llama]

Seeded watermelons are left on the vine longer and allowed to ripen to a preferred sweetness. This is also why they are bigger. Seedless varieties are picked once they reach a preferred size and are intentionally underripe to prevent damage in shipping. Seeded varieties are sweeter simply because they are less desirable and farmers care less about them.

[@johnopalko5223]

@@turtle4llama This is a sad commentary on what agriculture has become. _Sic transit gloria..._

[@thomasr.jackson2940]

It is not your imagination. Seedless varieties have little flavour.

[@guzhenn]

Ironically, I was just wondering about how seedless fruit reproduce yesterday, then today I saw this video was uploaded yesterday.

[@alexanderx33]

They do the same thing with grass carp so you don't get them breeding in your sportfishing pond. I always wondered what they mean't by triploid.

[@rays5163]

this sounds an awful lot like eugenics with fruit

[@firstname4116]

How do you explain those seedless watermelon seed packs that they're selling at homedepot?

[@simplesimonspeaks1115]

It was a dewy morning, the air was crisp and I was excited for the mornings duties. As I stood outside I noticed something in the garden. Something odd. The leaves were rustling. I quickly grabbed my pen and pad of paper, naturally being a scientist and went straight to the back yard. Oh what a surprise ,the melons where in mating fever!I studied the results. I could not wait to tell my peers. It was a beatiful morning. I will never forget those melons in the mist.....

[@potatoes_ss]

What are the most efficient threes at filtering air (if any)?

[@BrainSlamAnimatedScience]

*GMO free genetically modified watermelons* 👍 next meme 👏👏

[@matthewnotreal1118]

It sends me knowing that there's people out there that I've never actually tried seeded watermelon it is so much better

[@donjuanguest3697]

Hank is the best

[@raptecclawtooth9046]

You actually can eat the seeds if you fry it in a pan

[@thomasr.jackson2940]

I have eaten the seeds all my life and never cooked them, they just go down with the rest of the delicious melon. Well, except for the ones I spit.

[@gutlessness]

This is so wierd, the seeds don't matter at all. They're easily spit out or swallowed. If they exist in my country they're very uncommon and redundant

[@LittleMissKatieB]

IVE ALWAYS WONDERED ABOUT THIS

[@Teefs001]

I’d die to be able to work with the Scishow peeps honestly.

[@AntiMessiah2023]

So to become radiated enough to be a superhero all I need to do us to binge on seedless watermelons 🍉

[@AreaLabMen]

Geez, the process of how they found this out sounds like trying to find Easter Eggs in Mario Brothers.

[@isaacgraff8288]

Technically, by strictest definition, eugenics in plants counts as genetic modification. It's modification by selective breeding.

[@Cyanoco]

Alright I've been crossing watermelon for breeding hybrid study last week. At 2:20 where crossing female triploid with male diploid I think is wrong. To get triploid watermelon, you have crossing female Tetraploid with male Diploid.

[@Gerelos]

Has there ever been a case of a plant sprouting and growing inside of a living person or animal's digestive tract? Like that old urban legend about growing a watermelon in your stomach if you swallowed the seeds? If not, what causes a seed to sprout underground, and what part(s) of the digestive tract prevent seeds from sprouting?

[@emmankalayo1371]

not sure but google will tell you there were cases where plants grew in the stomachs. but im skeptical about that. also, one strong enemy of seed in our stomach is the acid that can easily melt almost anything, even our stomach. that's why another mucus is being secreted by our stomach to line up the walls, to prevent the acid from directly melting the wall..seed need to grow for days, only a day or so, the acid can almost melt the seed,, destroying it.

[@GlassOmen]

I just want regular watermelons. Seedless watermelons have way less flavor.

[@michaelesposito2629]

No. They don’t

[@richardbidinger2577]

Well then, that's one of life's mysteries down, now to get to that last couple billion, and we're all set.

[@FxPrawisuda]

So in conclusion, you need four kinds of organisms. One is ordinary diploid (2n) watermelons and second is tetraploid (4n), mate them we acquire triploid (3n) watermelon. Then for step two, those triploid (3n) watermelon (female) are pollinated with normal/ordinary male diploid (2n) watermelon. Am I right? Do we have to constantly create tetraploid (4n) with Colchicine?

[@miketesnohlidek1560]

I'm confused and maybe I'm missing something. If you pollinate the tetraploid with pollen from a diploid, then why do you have to grow 3 plants? Sounds like 2 plants to me. minute 2:26 of video

[@dennisvance4004]

Next: The science of boneless chickens.

[@Josephmgo1]

Why does a coffee mug crack when you pour super hot water into it during cold weather?

[@jessicasakimae541]

When two grown up watermelons love each other...

[@jeremyheminger6882]

For the supposed number of seedless watermelons sold. There sure are a lot of VERY seeded watermelons growing in the runoff of the local drainage ditch.

[@sebastianelytron8450]

Seedless watermelons don't taste as good though, the seeds impart a tart and mellow flavour missing when it's seedless.

[@symmetrygames8142]

@@AxxLAfriku please just stop

[@mouadgranderson9618]

AxxL wat

[@micahphilson]

Axxl, f****** goddammit, you again?

[@coffeewind4409]

I usually don't eat the seeds though.

[@somanayr]

I agree Sebastian, regular watermelons taste much better

[@kcyberpunk]

What happens when you get dizzy?

[@maximilianraab18]

To this day I did not even know seedless watermelons were a thing.

[@peterjf7723]

You are lucky. Seedless watermelons are always disappointing.

[@SweetSilentSmile]

This is very i interesting but now I have a question. . If you need 3 different types of watermelon to produce a seedless watermelon and that watermelon has to be manually pollinated..then.. what are the variety that grows from the packets of seedless watermelon seeds at the garden center? Shouldnt those not be able to produce fruit because they haven't been pollinated in that way? Sorry I'm not explaining this very well im a bit lost on the subject lol. Why do the seedless watermelon grown from seed packets(ironically) produce fruit without being manually cross pollinated by the other two kinds of watermelon ?

[@FxPrawisuda]

What seedless watermelon are actually triploid plant watermelon. Triploid watermelon can't produce viable seeds, by viable means, i think what they meant is, they didn't grow seeds within.

[@STONEDay]

Mmmmm mutant melons nom nom nom. Reminds me of the time I had watermelon dabs and posted the video on my channel.

[@AO00720]

Awww the thumbnail tho

[@eve36368]

*sees title* WAiT! They Reproduce?!??!!!?????!!

[@crochetingcanuck]

It would be so much easier if watermelons had all their seeds in an easily scoopable clump in the middle, like other melons and squash.

[@paulgodenitz]

I pictured something totally different when Hank said “chemically treated melon mom” 3:27 😏🍈🍈

[@wolfferoni]

Enjoying a sweet slice from the offspring of a chemically treated melon mom. That's not something I thought I'd ever hear.

[@cameoshadowness7757]

Also they can sell the seeded ones as well so they can still easily make profits.

[@shrivatsakulkarni9282]

Hey bro make a video on future of microprocessor and how we will address quantum mechanics in future?

[@insertfunnyhandlehere]

I used to work in produce. "Organic " and "non gmo" are largely meaningless. Organic will be kept and shiped with non organic foods technically making the whole batch non organic and as I'm plied we have been genetically modifying plants for as long as we have been farming we just got better at it over the years.

[@thomasr.jackson2940]

Daniel Ehler not meaningless. They mean folks can charge more for the same product.

[@insertfunnyhandlehere]

@@thomasr.jackson2940 "largely meaningless" i.e. only there to benefit the price tag. I was leaving that bit unstated as its obvious as soon as you walk into the produce section but I get why you pointed it out.

[@michaelesposito2629]

LOL what we’ve been doing since we started farming, is not even remotely close to gmo today. At all.

[@stellaelkhenizy3966]

Still get the seeded ones where I live. Cheap and delicious. It's no real hardship getting the seeds out. And the seeds themselves are good for you too - google it ;)

[@mrskitkats]

Cool!

[@scarletletter4900]

So, I'm not the only one whose aware that every plant that we grow for food is effectively a GMO

[@michaelesposito2629]

Effectively. Sure. And yet there is still a difference between breeding two different plants together, and inserting genomes from an animal, into a plant, in some multi billion dollar corporations lab.

[@ZeldaWolf2000]

"Melbourne mom" Best quote! 😀

[@josiahklein70]

*melon mom

[@ZeldaWolf2000]

Josiah Klein Yeah.. Dictate was dumb. Still a great line. 😀

[@nikkiwilliamson4665]

I’ve never seen a seedless watermelon. I didn’t even know they existed...

[@rareroe305]

I really should be heading out... BUT I GOT A WATER-MEL-OWN TO LEARN ABOUT!!

[@toastymansabe]

I have an orange tree that gives the best seedless orange ever

[@Zuroslav]

How did Rafa made seedless weed?

[@dhawthorne1634]

I already knew this. The seeds aren't that annoying and I'd rather not be eating Frankenmelon. Now if there was a selectively bred variety that had smaller or infrequent seeds, then I'd go for that over the current seeded varieties.

[@InstallaFriend]

They hold hands