"Exploding" Watermelons In China

reply to post by AQ6666

As soon as a fresh plant is removed from its host plant or reaches maturity, it begins to very slowly break down. Heat accelerates this process.

As it breaks down, a colorless gas called acetylene forms inside the water melon. The gas is volatile and quite unstable while in gas form (which is why when it's used in scientific experiments it's usually used in liquid form.)

The gas will try its best to escape the water melon but as it slowly increases due to the rotting in the water melon, the pressure will continue to increase.

When the skin of the watermelon is no longer strong enough to hold the gas inside, it will explode, often spraying all nearby surfaces with rotten water melon.

Sometimes a trip home from the shop in a warm car is the final catalyst required to create an explosion.

So there you have it. Or just keep believing the Chinese guy.


hubpages.com...

I found two sources online in which people said they had had their watermelons they had bought from the store explode.

ikfarrisfam.blogspot.com...

community.discovery.com...

And this article claims more than just one of the farmers was using the chemical.



weirdnews.aol.com...

All of those with exploding melons apparently were first-time users of the growth accelerator forchlorfenuron, though it has been widely available for some time, CCTV said.

Wang Liangju, a professor with College of Horticulture at Nanjing Agricultural University who has been to Danyang since the problems began to occur, said that forchlorfenuron is safe and effective when used properly.

He told The Associated Press that the drug had been used too late into the season, and that recent heavy rain also raised the risk of the fruit cracking open. But he said the variety of melon also played a role.

"If it had been used on very young fruit, it wouldn't be a problem," Wang said. "Another reason is that the melon they were planting is a thin-rind variety and these kind are actually nicknamed the 'exploding melon' because they tend to split."

reply to post by imasecretspy


That`s the most probable explanation. So now I ask: Why does the agricultural experts investigating the incident were unable to offer an explanation ???

Well I guess I have just been really lucky. I grow and eat watermellon all the time, never had one go bad and explode on me.

reply to post by AQ6666


The article I linked to above says there IS an explanation.

They say these guys were first time users of a growth accelerator, they used it late in the season, in wet weather, with a thin rinded variety of watermelon already nicknamed exploding melons because their thin skins burst so easily.

I bet Bin Laden never thought of it

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


Yes, but there are also farmers that haven`t used any chemicals on their watermellons production which have also exploded

reply to post by AQ6666


Because they weren't experts.

If they were, they would have googled the most probable cause to why they exploded, like I did.

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


I said that from the start. Unfortunately, It fell on deaf ears.

Thanks for the links.

reply to post by imasecretspy
.... I`m not a watermellon expert either... well, at least of this kind

Happened to me last 4th of July, and I posted a thread about the experience in short stories here:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

and from one of the quotes in that thread, a simple explanation:

"You should have eaten the watermelon! It was fermented. This happens pretty frequently, especially when the fruit has been sitting in hot weather. The pressure of the fermentation process is what causes it to explode."

I've seen this happen before, it can also be because the outside skin goes hard and when alot of water is supplied, more than it's been getting, the inside tissue grows rapidly, faster than the skin and it has a blowout.

Guys this is a growth hormone given to the watermelons
and they gave it too much, that's why this happened, nothing else

Watermelons have been bursting by the score in eastern China after farmers gave them overdoses of growth chemicals during wet weather, creating fields of "land mines" instead of the bounty of fruit they wanted.

All of those with exploding melons apparently were first-time users of the growth accelerator forchlorfenuron

www.cbc.ca...

that's all
Thx

reply to post by ModernAcademia


Some of the farmers in some articles claimed they didnt use it. I think thats why people find it mysterious. But the expert said they all did, and used it wrong.

Exploding watermelons.. what will they think of next?

If you get heavy rains in the late stage of growth the watermelons can split open.. it looks like they ruptured. Maybe this is why the weather may have been a factor?

maybe is was HAARP..

kx

reply to post by AQ6666

Ok if this happens due to chemical products, then is the human health that is in risk. However, farmers say this also happens to chemical-free watermelons which is very strange !

Too much water Case closed

The BBC is not exactly a great source. They often take a fact and then add spin. I have caught them at it before. The suicides in India caused by big Ag were reported as caused by global warming for example.

The Chinese...chemicals, chemicals everywhere. Whether it be in production of consumerable goods and non-consumerables alike. Geez.

1. Explosive fruit...It makes for a more exciting and unpredictable picnic.

2. Wouldn't it be even more fun if little watermelon aliens came busting out of them as well?

3. Why has this "story" received so much press considering the other issues that are present in the world?

reply to post by AQ6666


Perhaps it has happened before.. and strangely the memories of one man over 20 years cannot catalog the entire history of watermelons.

How fast do watermelons even grow? I think it would be a stretch to suggest this happened due to contaminated seeds.. if they were contaminated they probably would not have grown.