Bursting Melons Add to Food Woes

Chinese television reports of watermelons exploding like “land mines” quickly went global, raising concerns about dyes, growth regulators and pesticides in the food supply. Competitive farmers try to make crops more attractive for market, but learn there can be too much of a good thing. Some of the melon farmers reported using the growth regulator forchlorfenuron, also used in the US. The chemical “improves fruit size, fruit set, cluster weight and cold storage in grapes and kiwifruits” and “acts synergistically with natural auxins to promote plant cell division and lateral growth,” notes the US Environmental Protection Agency, which urges low application rates. Other melon farmers denied using the chemical, and an agriculture professor pointed out that heavy rain, melon variety and timing of chemical applications also played a role. In 2010, the Chinese government destroyed more than 3 tons of beans reported to be a meter long and has since urged cautions on overuse of chemicals. – YaleGlobal