<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;line-height:130%">Texas</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By Jordan Okumura<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">04.19.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>It has been a tough season for farmers in the whole state of Texas, mainly due to the water shortages that the state has been facing. But despite scares of rationing water, Texas continues to be a key player in the watermelon industry and farmers are still very optimistic their watermelon crops will overcome this difficult situation.<img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/texas-watermelon-cropped.jpg" alt="Images041713" />Rosie Aguirre, Nunhems Watermelon/Melon Account Manager for South Texas, tells AndNowUKnow, that the company is overcoming the water shortage as watermelon season ramps up in the South Texas region. Nunhems varieties continue to spread through the valley with SuperSeedless 7167 being the primary variety being planted. As planting in West Texas continues, the company has acreages of SuperSeedless 7167, 7177 and 7187 spread throughout.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Growers note that in the Rio Grande Valley, if they don’t get any rain before June of this year, the water in Falcon and Amistad Dams will be used mainly for human consumption, and very little for farming, which is a problem they may yet face. For Nunhems though, the company is still very confident that its varieties will help offset this.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, the state is continuing to recover from the historic 2011 drought, which cost the state $8.3 billion in agricultural losses. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 88 percent of the state is experiencing some degree of drought conditions.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
