Ripening of ‘Charleston Gray’ watermelon fruits was accompanied by changes in the appearance and quantity of surface waxes. The structure of surface wax platelets observed with a scanning electron microscope changed from an intricate porous appearance for unripe fruits to a smoother, less porous appearance for optimally ripe and overripe fruits. Structural changes in waxes as fruit matured from the unripe to overripe stages were accompanied by a 71% increase in the quantity of epicuticular waxes. These observations suggest the possibility of monitoring the ripeness of watermelon fruit through changes that occur in the appearance and structure of surface waxes.
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Corey et al. (1988) studied this question.
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