Agriculture student Joe De Pascalis is the young man behind a successful drive to supply British retailer Tesco with U.K. grown watermelons to rival fruits exported from countries such as Brazil and Spain.

Joe De Pascalis

Speaking with www.freshfruitportal.com, the 19-year-old apprentice said unusually warm temperatures this summer helped drive his watermelon trials that went in-store for the first time last week.

"I started on the project about four months ago when I had to select an independent study as part of my apprenticeship course," he said.

"I was originally gong to pick strawberries but I really wanted to do something different and chose a fruit that isn’t usually grown in Britain. So I had an idea to try to grow watermelons and it went from there.

"I had to demonstrate that I could grow something from start to finish. I guess I didn’t expect the results to be this good."

The teenager, who works for soft fruit growers and exporters S&A Produce and studies production horticulture at Hadlow College, England, used the company trial tunnels to start work with the watermelons sowing the seeds in May.

The fruit needed artificial heating at the germination stage via a biomass woodchip burner, a process that significantly reduces the carbon footprint. Once planted the watermelons received no additional heating.

"Most people think that it’s difficult to grow watermelons in England and maybe it would have been if we didn't have such a great summer -  the weather definitely had a big impact.

"It was quite an easy crop to grow because it was a protected crop under tunnels and I was very lucky because it coincided with warm temperatures and little rain. I had to tend to them every day and monitor the growing processes every step of the way so they became a bit like my babies.

"If we didn’t get the weather we’ve been having then maybe the crop would not have been so successful, but I’m really pleased with how it turned out and the fact that my fruit was trialed in such a big store like Tesco."

The student took part in an in-store promotion last week showcasing his fruit to shoppers.

A second batch is due to be harvested over the next few days and although volumes are very low, due to the fact that this was only a trial, Tesco is impressed with the quality and size of the fruit.

Tesco produce manager James Cackett said that if customer feedback was positive, more watermelon trials would be ordered for next year.

"These watermelons taste so good that we don’t think shoppers will be able to tell the difference between them and the imported ones sold on the high streets from Spain and Brazil," he said in a statement to www.freshfruitportal.com.

"The sweetness level is very good and they are standard size, weighing between one and three kilo each (2.2lbs to 6.6lbs). We have chosen the varieties that are popular with shoppers.

"Joe has clearly done a very good job growing them and in doing so made a mark on British agriculture. His college and S&A Produce can be very proud of him."

S&A Produce is one the largest suppliers of strawberries in the U.K. and has been growing fruit for Tesco for several years.

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