Ever wanted to get your hands on a yellow watermelon? Well, now you can. A Karnataka farmer is growing yellow watermelons. Basavraj Patil, a graduate from the small village of Koralli has earned profits of over Rs. 1 lakh by the sale of these watermelons.  

Basavraj Patil has collaborated with both the local mart of his village and Big Bazaar in the nearby city where he sells his produce. Recently news agency ANI took notice of his efforts and took his interview. In the interview, Patil said that the yellow watermelons are even sweeter than the standard red watermelons we are all accustomed to.  

These yellow watermelons have colour that ranges from pale yellow to bright golden. They often come with edible seeds or absolutely seed-less. Contrary to its red cousin, the yellow watermelon has a thinner rind.  

In his interview with ANI, the young Indian graduate who’s adding new dimensions to farming urged that Indians should diversify crop production. “We should diversify our crop production in India,” Patil said.  

According to reports, these yellow watermelons are high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Vitamins A & C help with strengthening the immune system and skin health. These watermelons are also high in beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant that protects one from cancer and eye diseases.  

When his story was shared on Twitter, people on the micro-blogging platform lauded his efforts in this way:  

In case you’re wondering what makes a watermelon yellow, we’ve got you covered. The yellow flesh on the inside of the watermelon is a natural mutation. From the outside, these yellow watermelons are not any different from their red counterpart. The taste of these melons is slightly different from red ones. The yellow watermelon is sweeter and has a honey-like flavour.  

Last year, a 28-year-old automobile-engineer Nitesh Borkar based in Goa made it to the news by his yellow watermelon farming. The young man cultivated 250 yellow watermelons without the use of any chemical fertilisers and pesticides. This made the watermelons 100% organic.  

In his attempts of growing the organic watermelons, Nitesh spent a moderate sum of Rs. 4,000 and earned more than Rs. 30,000 at the sale of the first batch of his produce. According to Better Indian, Nitesh began farming on a 4×4 plot in December 2019. The space was as small as an average attic found in most homes.   

He told that when he shared his new innovation, people were stunned. They had never seen or tasted such a fruit. As they had never tried a yellow watermelon, it was a novel concept for the market. And since the input cost only Rs. 4,000 even small-town farmers who never tried organic farming took interest in his work.  

Citrullus lanatus aka watermelons were originally farmed in the African subcontinent. Since then, the refreshing fruit was farmed across the globe and has over 1,000 subtypes.