Windsor Genova - AHN News News Writer
Danyang, China (AHN) - Overripe watermelons on 115 acres of farmland in eastern China have exploded and investigators have linked the incident to the overuse of a chemical that makes the fruit grow fast.
Wang Liangju, a professor at Nanjing Agricultural University, blamed the exploding watermelons on the overspraying of forchlorfenuron by farmers in Danyang city, Jiangsu province.
However, there were watermelons not sprayed with the chemical that also exploded and agricultural experts blamed it to the weather. Apparently, heavy rains fell on the watermelon farms after a recent drought.
One farmer saw one-third of his watermelon crops ruined. He admitted spraying the chemical on May 6 and 180 melons burst the following day, the local media reported. Another farmer who did not spray forchlorfenuron on his watermelon farm saw some fruits explode.
Forchlorfenuron is not banned by the Chinese government as the chemical is safe.
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