Abstract. Thermal treatments are widely used to control bacterial fruit blotch on watermelon seeds contaminated by pathogens. It is necessary for developing effective pasteurization methods, which may not affect the germination rate of seeds by meeting the commercial circulation requirements. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of moisture content, temperature and heating rate on the germination rate of watermelon seeds by using a special heating block system. The results showed that the heating rate during the come-up time had no significant effect (P>0.05) on the germination rate of watermelon seeds, however, the holding time had a significant effect (P