Vegetable Crops–PLSC 404
Lesson 19, Melons
Instructor:
Stephen L. Love
Aberdeen R & E Center
P.O. Box 870
Aberdeen, ID 83210
Phone: 397-4181 Fax: 397-4311
Email: 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 trade
Now 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
Diploid
Chromosome number 2n=22
Tetraploid forms used to create seedless
melons
Hybrids 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 Africa
Historical uses remain in play
Production during dry season
Supplemental 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 worldwide
Opportunities for market
identified products
Small producers participate in
export through wholesalers
Production very labor intensive
Crop 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 price
Harvest 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 fruit
Pistillate flowers receptive for only a few
hours
About 1 week between pistillate flowers on
any one branch
Adequate pollination by insects essential
Importation of bees can be beneficial
Watermelon
Production – Disease Control
Fungal
Fusarium wilt – rotation (6-10 yrs), resistance
Physiological
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 Grading
Based on:
Sweetness (measured as soluble solids,
minimum 10.5 %)
Size
Color
Texture
Freedom 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 groups
Cantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelon
Inodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)
Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumber
Conomon – oriental pickling melon
Chito – mango melon
Dudaim – pomegranate melon
Momordica – Snap melon
Agrestis – wild type
Melon - Botany
Eight sub-species groups
Cantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelon
Inodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)
Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumber
Conomon – oriental pickling melon
Chito – mango melon
Dudaim – pomegranate melon
Momordica – Snap melon
Agrestis – wild type
Melon - Botany
Eight sub-species groups
Cantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelon
Inodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)
Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumber
Conomon – oriental pickling melon
Chito – mango melon
Dudaim – pomegranate melon
Momordica – Snap melon
Agrestis – wild type
Melon - Botany
Eight sub-species groups
Cantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelon
Inodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)
Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumber
Conomon – oriental pickling melon
Chito – mango melon
Dudaim – pomegranate melon
Momordica – Snap melon
Agrestis – wild type
Melon - Botany
Eight sub-species groups
Cantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelon
Inodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)
Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumber
Conomon – oriental pickling melon
Chito – mango melon
Dudaim – pomegranate melon
Momordica – Snap melon
Agrestis – wild type
Melon - Botany
Eight sub-species groups
Cantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelon
Inodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)
Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumber
Conomon – oriental pickling melon
Chito – mango melon
Dudaim – pomegranate melon
Momordica – Snap melon
Agrestis – wild type
Melon - Botany
Eight sub-species groups
Cantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelon
Inodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)
Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumber
Conomon – oriental pickling melon
Chito – mango melon
Dudaim – pomegranate melon
Momordica – Snap melon
Agrestis – wild type
Melon - Botany
Eight sub-species groups
Cantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelon
Inodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)
Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumber
Conomon – oriental pickling melon
Chito – mango melon
Dudaim – pomegranate melon
Momordica – Snap melon
Agrestis – wild type
Melon - Botany
Eight sub-species groups
Cantalupensis – cantaloupe, muskmelon
Inodorus – winter melon (casaba, honeydew)
Flexuous – snake melon, Armenian cucumber
Conomon – oriental pickling melon
Chito – mango melon
Dudaim – pomegranate melon
Momordica – Snap melon
Agrestis – 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 modernintensive
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 handling
Must be harvested fully ripe
Harvest indices
Muskmelon
Full slip
Yellow ground color
Winter melons
Slightly spongy stem end
Yellow or gold ground color