A few seasons ago, CapGen Seeds conquered the market with Tentación F1, its seedless black watermelon known for its reliable fruit set and flavour. Today, the breeder is taking a step further in ‘functional genetics’.
While Tentación established itself thanks to its excellent post-harvest performance and uniform size, the R&D department asked itself: ‘What is the one thing a farmer lacks when he is in the middle of the field? Mobile coverage.’ The answer is ‘Gigabyte.’
From Brix degrees to connection degrees with CapGen Seeds watermelons
‘With Tentación, we managed to improve the Brix degrees, but with Gigabyte, we have achieved a balance between Vodafone and Movistar,’ jokes Dr. Stefan Conectiv, head of the project. According to his data, the high concentration of magnesium in the sap of this variety creates a magnetic field capable of amplifying the 4G and 5G signal within a radius of 50 metres.
Trials in eastern Almería Farmers who have already tried it in the San Isidro and Pujaire area can hardly believe it. ‘Before, I had to climb onto the roof of the warehouse to send a WhatsApp message. Now, I sit on a Gigabyte F1 and downloaded the final season of Stranger Things in 4K before it was released on Netflix,’ says a collaborating producer.
War of ‘exclusives’ between telecoms. The potential is such that the marketing model has changed dramatically. Internal sources confirm that CapGen Seeds has halted talks with large cooperatives to sit down with telecommunications giants.
‘We are currently in advanced negotiations with Telefónica,’ sources from the sales department reveal. ‘They want exclusive rights to the variety in order to roll out their rural network without installing antennas. If the deal goes through, this season’s watermelons will not be sold by the kilo, but by the megabyte.’
Consumption precautions: Although the variety retains the intense red colour and juicy texture inherited from the Tentación genetics, CapGen Seeds warns of a minor side effect: if the watermelon is left to overripen on the vine, the excess energy causes it to start mining cryptocurrencies. ‘Yesterday I went to cut one and it had generated 0.003 Bitcoins,’ they report from the field.
The Gigabyte F1 will be available in 2026. It is recommended that you put your mobile phone in ‘airplane mode’ before eating it to avoid digestive interference.
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