6-2 FB TNT Melons

 Fields of watermelon burst in China farm fiasco.

Before I begin this story, I want you to listen to a quote from Douglas Jones who is executive director of growers for bio-technology: “Anything that has a lot of water in the fruit, tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, those kinds of things,  if you get too much water in them they will actually split their skin.”

 Well, according to an article in the Associated Press, watermelons have been bursting by the score in eastern China after farmers gave them overdoses of growth chemicals during wet weather, creating what state media called fields of "land mines."

About 20 farmers around Jiangsu province lost up to 115 acres of melon after learning that prices had heavily escalated and prompted them to jump into the watermelon market. All of those with exploding melons apparently were first-time users of the growth accelerator forchlor fenuron, though it has been widely available for some time, CCTV said.

Chinese regulations don't forbid the drug, and it is allowed in the U.S. on kiwi fruit and grapes. But the report underscores how farmers in China are abusing both legal and illegal chemicals, with many farms misusing pesticides and fertilizers.