Retailers reject 360,000 tons of ‘substandard’ watermelons ever year, which, according to UK daily The Telegraph, can produce nearly 9 million litres of biofuel every year.

Researchers at the US Department of Agriculture, led by Dr Wayne Fish, found that 50% of watermelons can be fermented into ethanol biofuel.

The study on biofuel from watermelons was published in the Biotechnology for Biofuels journal.