Flowering, Fruit Set, and Fruit Development in Birdsnest-type Muskmelons

Abstract

Abstract The birdsnest plant type in muskmelon (Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus Naud.) is characterized by short internodes, weak apical dominance, and concentrated yield. Flowering, fruit set, and fruit development in a birdsnest-type were examined and compared with those characters in a vine-type muskmelon to understand how the concentration of yield is achieved. A muskmelon breeding line with the birdsnest habit, D26, was compared with ‘Noy Yizre'el (NY), a vine-type cultivar. Results of a greenhouse and field study indicated that the two genotypes had similar patterns of perfect flowering; however, D26 set a greater number of fruit than NY. The pattern of fruit set and fruit maturity (yield) was more concentrated in D26 than in NY. First-set fruit had an inhibitory effect on the development of later-set fruit in NY, but this effect was not apparent with D26. NY fruit were larger in size and had higher soluble solids than D26 fruit. The concentrated fruit set and yield of birdsnest-type plants suggests a more equal partitioning of assimilates to young, developing fruit than in vine-type plants.