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A farmer points to the exploded watermelons in Zhenjiang city, east Chinas Jiangsu province
# China
Farmers confused by exploding watermelons in China
Watermelons may be exploding due to the use of chemicals, latest reports say.
WATERMELONS ARE A refreshing treat on a hot summer’s day – but not when they’re exploding right in front of you.
The BBC is reporting that 20 farmers in China have been baffled by exploding watermelon crops in the Jiangsu province, which has led to the loss of acres of the fruit.
No one has a reason for the exploding fruit but the weather, use of chemicals and the large size of the watermelons has been blamed.
CNBC said that farmers have been spraying their crops with growth promoter forchlorfenuron in an attempt to boost their crops.
The Xhinua news agency said that one farmer told them two-thirds of his crop had blown up.
He had used chemicals on them on 6 May, and the next day 180 of them exploded.
However, some farmers who had not used chemicals were plagued by exploding watermelons, he said.
