by crossing diploid and tetraploid lines of watermelon, with the resulting seeds producing sterile triploid plants. Fruit development is triggered by pollination, so these plants must be grown alongside a diploid strain to provide pollen. Triploid plants with seedless fruits can also be produced using endosperm culture for the regeneration of triploid plantlets from endosperm tissue via somatic embryogenesis. The term "seedless fruit" is biologically somewhat contradictory, since fruits are usually defined botanically as mature ovaries containing seeds. Disadvantages A disadvantage of most seedless crops is a significant reduction in the genetic diversity of the species. Because the plants are genetically identical clones, a pest or disease that affects one individual is likely capable of affecting each of its clones. For example, the vast majority of commercially produced bananas are cloned from a single source, the Cavendish cultivar, and are vulnerable to the fungal disease known as Panama disease. References Edible fruits Fruit morphology