Excerpts from the report: In the United States watermelon production for 1982 totaled more than 23 million hundredweight. The value of this crop exceeded $150 million. Watermelons are available from March through October, but more than 80 percent are marketed in June, July, and August. Watermelons are usually harvested by hand and transported by field truck to a central location where they are loaded on over-the-road trailers for transport to destination. The overwhelming majority of these transport shipments are bulk loads. In bulk loads melons are stacked five to seven layers high. A cushioning of straw is placed on the floor and against the front and rear walls of the trailers to prevent melon damage. The major purpose of this study was to determine the direct labor, equipment, and material costs to harvest and deliver watermelons from growing area to retail store by the two methods that are used (bulk and bin).