2005 Annual Report 4d.Progress report. A Non-funded Cooperative Agreement was established under the supervision of ARS scientists Dr. Charles Webber and Dr. Angela Davis, in cooperation with organic producers Joe and Vickie Townsend. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent CRIS 6222-21220-001-00D, Production Systems Affecting Yield and Quality of Vegetable Crops. The objective of this project was to investigate the two foremost concerns of organic producers, i.e., suitable organic varieties and weed management. Research was initiated to investigate the suitability of watermelon varieties within a weed management system using rye and legume cover crops, and appropriate organically certified inputs. Transplants of six varieties, including diploids, triploids, and heirloom, of watermelons were produced using organic procedures and materials. The cereal and legume cover crops were flail mowed prior to transplanting watermelon seedlings into the mulch. No-till methods for production were used. Data on weeds, disease, and insect occurrence and populations were collected for analysis.