A Strange Virus Is Hitting Israel’s Watermelon Crop, Wiping Out About 1,000 Dunams

Israel’s watermelon industry is facing an unusually severe blow this year, after about 1,000 dunams of growing areas across the country were destroyed following a widespread outbreak of a virus that damages the fruit. According to data released today (Wednesday) by the Fund for Natural Damage Insurance in Agriculture, that amounts to about 10% of all watermelon-growing areas in Israel.

According to the fund’s announcement, the damage is not limited to one specific region. Instead, it has been recorded in several major growing areas around the country, including the Jordan Valley, the Lower Galilee, and the Gaza border region. The fund also estimates that as the harvest season continues and additional fields ripen, more pockets of damage that have not yet been identified may still emerge.

The virus, identified as a cucurbit virus, does not pose a risk to public health and does not make infected watermelons dangerous to eat. Still, its impact on fruit quality is significant. Watermelons affected by the virus suffer damage to both texture and taste, become mealy, and lose their characteristic qualities. In addition, some of the fruit appears not fully ripe, while others show white flesh or yellow streaks that give them an overripe appearance.

The Fund for Natural Damage Insurance in Agriculture said this year has seen an especially unusual outbreak of the virus. According to the fund, the scope of infection is five to six times higher than the average known in the industry in a typical year. This outbreak comes on top of other difficulties growers were already facing at the start of the season.

According to the fund, the roots of the current damage go back to March, which was marked by weather conditions that were unusual for the season. Heavy cloud cover and relatively cold temperatures during that period affected crop development and led to a "dramatic and significant reduction in yield volumes." That created early damage to the crop, even before the virus appeared on the wide scale seen later on.