Is there any way to reconnect a severed vine with a water melon (small size) at the end of the vine?

Question

I was pruning my garden. Accidently I cleanly cutoff a the main vine of my watermelon plant. At the end of that vine there was a small melon (2/3 of a basketball). I immediately slice a longitudinal section (20cm) of two severed ends of that vine and connected them, wrap them tightly with tape so that air/water can not get in. And then finally wrap them with wire (so that vines can stay connected all the way through) and Put that section of vine in shade. (Please, see the attached illustration). It's been raining since and hopefully will be raining for two more days. I prune some of leaves of that vine in order to reduce evaporation of water. And that vine is not so long (Maximum 2.5 meter long). My questions is, With all that I have done and the current weather condition,

1. What are the chances that vine with the fruit itself survive?
2. What else I could have done batter?

Answer 1

It may or may not survive, but as you acted immediately, you might be lucky. The only thing I would have done differently is to use a short piece of thin stick, like a piece cut from a short green plant support/cane, lay that along the length of the join and then tape the whole thing to give more support to the area. Wire is better than nothing, but if its tight round the join, if the repair works, it may become too tight if the stem thickens slightly, but I wouldn't suggest you undo the repair and start again, it's best not to interfere with it further, especially as a melon vine is not a woody plant and the stem is unlikely to get very thick. Whether the fruit will survive remains to be seen...