Vegetable Crops–PLSC 404Lesson 19, Melons

Instructor:Stephen L. LoveAberdeen R & E CenterP.O. Box 870Aberdeen, ID 83210Phone: 397-4181 Fax: 397-4311Email: slove@uidaho.edu

What makes the garlic diet so great?

What makes the garlic diet so great?

You don’t have to lose weight, your friends stand so far away they think you look smaller.

"The true southern watermelon is a boon apart and not to be mentioned with commoner things. It is chief of this world’s luxuries, king by the grace of God over all the fruits of the earth. When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat."

Mark Twain

Watermelon fruit

Watermelon

Taxonomy

Dicotyledon

Family: Cucurbitaceae

Genus and species: Citrullus lanatus

Related species: melons, gourds, luffa, cucumber

Watermelon

Origin and Domestication

Indigenous to south-central Africa

(dry savannah regions)

Ancient cultivation in the Mediterranean

Taken into China from India

Unknown in Europe before 1600 AD

Taken in North America by 1630 AD

Watermelon

Market Evolution

Important source of water for foragers in savannah regions

Became a staple of subsistence farmers – nutrition, water storage

Became an item of local tradeNow an important cash crop used in

worldwide export activity

Watermelon

Major Watermelon Exporters

Exporter Sold to:

Mexico US, Canada

Spain Europe

Turkey Europe

Panama US, Canada

Italy Europe

Watermelon

Use and importance

Nutritionally lean due to high water content

Good source of carbohydrates, energy, and calories

Moderate source of vitamin A and vitamin C

Watermelon

Genetics and breeding

DiploidChromosome number 2n=22Tetraploid forms used to create seedless

melonsHybrids becoming common in the U.S (good

for uniformity rather than vigor and yield)

Watermelon

Production of Seedless Seeds

Tetraploid Parent X Diploid Parent (hand pollination)

Triploid Seed (Produces seedless melon)

Watermelon

Genetics and breeding

The bitter principle

Caused by cucurbitacins

Inherited by a single gene

Toxic to humans at high levels

Human population – tasters and non-tasters

Watermelon

Subsistence Production

Mostly located in AfricaHistorical uses remain in playProduction during dry seasonSupplemental nutrition to

augment staple crops such as cassava, sweet potatoes, yams

Production very labor intensive

Watermelon

Watermelons are among the most popular cultigens for forager-farmers in the Kalahari for the following reasons: "First, they provide a source of water; second, they are relatively drought-resistant, especially when compared to seed crops like sorghum and maize; and third, dried melons are an article of food for both humans and livestock and, after they have been cut into strips and hung on thorn trees to dry, they are easy to store" (Hitchcock and Ebert 1984).

Watermelon

Market Garden Production

Located worldwideOpportunities for market

identified productsSmall producers participate in

export through wholesalersProduction very labor intensiveCrop not amenable to vertical

production systems

Watermelon

Modern-Intensive Production

Located throughout northern hemisphere (Australia)

Practiced in many undeveloped countries

Marketed through major shippers/wholesalers

Seasonal production dictated by priceHarvest labor intensive

Watermelon

Climate and soils

Warm season, tender crop

Cannot withstand frost

Susceptible to chilling injury (<45 degrees)

Optimum temperatures 70-100 degrees

Produces best quality in climates with low humidity

Grows in most soils, earlier in light soils

Flowering habit of watermelon

(C. colocythis)

Watermelon

Flowering and Fruit Set

First pistillate flowers rarely develop fruitPistillate flowers receptive for only a few hoursAbout 1 week between pistillate flowers on any

one branchAdequate pollination by insects essentialImportation of bees can be beneficial

Watermelon

Production – Disease ControlFungal

Fusarium wilt – rotation (6-10 yrs), resistancePhysiological

Blossom-end rot – proper irrigation, calcium

Watermelon

Production - Harvest

(must be harvested ripe, not climacteric)

Harvest indices

Dead fruit peduncle tendril

Yellow ground spot

Bass or hollow thump sound

Presence of “bee stings”

Sampling important for final determination

Watermelon

Quality and GradingBased on: Sweetness (measured as soluble solids,

minimum 10.5 %)SizeColorTextureFreedom from injury or rot

Watermelon

Marketing

On a local basis, diversity of type creates good marketing opportunities

Traditional

Seedless

Yellow flesh

Orange flesh

Icebox

When is a cucumber like a strawberry?

When is a cucumber like a strawberry?

When one is in a pickle and the other in a jam.

Melons

Melon

Domestication

Indigenous to Africa

Secondary centers of diversity in India, Iran, Russia, China

Cultivated in Egypt prior to 2400 BC

Name after Cantaluppi, Italy

Melon - Botany

Eight sub-species groupsCantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelonInodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumberConomon – oriental pickling melonChito – mango melonDudaim – pomegranate melonMomordica – Snap melonAgrestis – wild type

Melon - Botany

Eight sub-species groupsCantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelonInodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumberConomon – oriental pickling melonChito – mango melonDudaim – pomegranate melonMomordica – Snap melonAgrestis – wild type

Melon - Botany

Eight sub-species groupsCantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelonInodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumberConomon – oriental pickling melonChito – mango melonDudaim – pomegranate melonMomordica – Snap melonAgrestis – wild type

Melon - Botany

Eight sub-species groupsCantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelonInodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumberConomon – oriental pickling melonChito – mango melonDudaim – pomegranate melonMomordica – Snap melonAgrestis – wild type

Melon - Botany

Eight sub-species groupsCantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelonInodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumberConomon – oriental pickling melon Chito – mango melonDudaim – pomegranate melonMomordica – Snap melonAgrestis – wild type

Melon - Botany

Eight sub-species groupsCantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelonInodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumberConomon – oriental pickling melonChito – mango melonDudaim – pomegranate melonMomordica – Snap melonAgrestis – wild type

Melon - Botany

Eight sub-species groupsCantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelonInodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumberConomon – oriental pickling melonChito – mango melonDudaim – pomegranate melonMomordica – Snap melonAgrestis – wild type

Melon - Botany

Eight sub-species groupsCantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelonInodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumberConomon – oriental pickling melonChito – mango melonDudaim – pomegranate melonMomordica – Snap melonAgrestis – wild type

Melon - Botany

Eight sub-species groupsCantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelonInodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumberConomon – oriental pickling melonChito – mango melonDudaim – pomegranate melonMomordica – Snap melonAgrestis – wild type

Melon

Producing countries

Produced worldwide

Has achieved its maximum potential and diversity in Asia

China is the largest producer

Melon

Production and Management

Most production market garden and modern-intensive

Less important as a subsistence crop

Production preferentially in Asia, Mediterranean, N. America

Management systems nearly identical to those used for watermelons

Melon

Varieties and Breeding

All C. melo are cross-fertile

Variety type differentiation is market oriented

Most varieties are open pollinated – some hybrids

Melon – muskmelon, western shipping type

Melon – muskmelon, eastern type

Melon – honey dew

Melon - casaba

Melon - crenshaw

Melon - galia

Melon - kharbouza

Melon – santa claus

Melon

Production – Harvest and handlingMust be harvested fully ripeHarvest indices

MuskmelonFull slipYellow ground color

Winter melonsSlightly spongy stem endYellow or gold ground color