Israel’s Watermelon Crop Hit by Virus and Cold Spring Weather

An unusual virus outbreak has damaged about 20% of Israel’s watermelon growing areas, with the industry estimating losses in the millions of shekels. According to KANAT, the agricultural natural-damage insurance fund, more than 1,000 dunams of watermelon fields have already been approved for destruction, equal to roughly 10% of the country’s total watermelon acreage.

The sector is facing two severe blows at once, poor yields caused by weather damage and a sharp spread of a cucurbit virus that has few effective countermeasures. The trouble began in March, when heavy cloud cover and relatively cold conditions hurt pollination and caused a major drop in harvest volumes.

The impact was strongest in the warmer areas that produce the first watermelons of the season, the northern Jordan Valley and the Beit She’an Valley, where May output was very low. At the same time, the virus spread unusually fast this year, at five to six times the normal annual rate, KANAT said, possibly because of climate conditions and the viruses’ growing resistance.

The virus does not harm the fruit’s safety, but it ruins texture and taste, making watermelons mealy and unsuitable for sale. The damage is now appearing in fields across the country, including the Jordan Valley, the Lower Galilee and the south, especially the Gaza border area. The marketing season runs from mid-April through August, and growers fear more losses may emerge later in the summer when additional fields reach harvest.