What's eating my yellow doll watermelon?

Yellow Doll is a compact early-maturing yellow-fleshed watermelon. Like all Citrullus lanatus cultivars it is targeted by cucumber beetles, aphids, and in southern gardens by pickleworms. Its small fruit size makes it somewhat less attractive to larger animals, but aphid-borne mosaic virus is the most consistent season-long threat.

Early-season feeding on leaves and flowers; bacterial wilt vectored; adults emerge early and attack just-transplanted seedlings Row covers at transplant; remove at first female flower; kaolin clay; pyrethrin spray for adults

Distorted, mosaic-patterned leaves from virus transmission; colonies on undersides reduce vigor and fruit quality Reflective silver mulch; insecticidal soap or neem oil; avoid nitrogen over-fertilization that promotes soft growth attractive to aphids

Larvae bore into small developing fruit and vines in southern US states; entry points rot quickly Bt spray targeting early-instar larvae; destroy affected fruit; monitor with pheromone traps