Yummy Yucatecan watermelon on its way to Texas
Tekax, Yucatán — It’s harvest time at La Flor de Nayarit, a farm in the southern “cone” of the Peninsula. And most of the crop, a sweet and seedless watermelon, will be shipped to McAllen, Texas to be devoured across the U.S. Just 10 percent is sold nationally.
The farm has been cultivating watermelon for 15 years on land that they say has special characteristics that makes their crop distinctive enough to command a premium price.
Juan José Canul Pérez, the state secretary of rural development, was among dignitaries who attended the first cut of the harvest. The state has helped the farm with fertilizer and water pumps as an economic stimulus for the region, for which producer Mauricio Silva Mártir thanked officials during the visit.
Accompanied by Agriculture Director Luis Novelo Piña, they walked through the extensive fields to verify the quality of the product.
The farm’s 232 hectares have a production capacity of 10,000 tons of watermelon per year.
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