Watermelon Could Be the Fuel of the Future

By Jennifer Pierce, NEWS 9

LANE, Oklahoma – Scientists at a research facility in southeast Oklahoma are turning a favorite fruit into the fuel of the future.

USDA researchers and chemists are using watermelon to create a new fuel source for cars. About 20 percent of crops are wasted because producers leave odd-shaped melons out in the field.

Scientists take the leftover melons to the lab and put them through a fermentation process. They mix the watermelon juice with yeast and produce ethanol.

It's too soon to mass produce the watermelon fuel, but people who grow the crops will likely be the first to test the new energy source.

"Take ethanol from their unused melons or produced from unused melons and they could put it in their vehicles and tractors," said USDA researcher Wayne Fisher.

Researchers are finding more uses for watermelon than just fuel. They're researching the fruit's effectiveness in combating diseases such as cancer.