Melon Types Research Articles

Bacterial diversity and composition on the rinds of specific melon cultivars and hybrids from across different growing regions in the United States.

The goal of this study was to characterize the bacterial diversity on different melon varieties grown in different regions of the US, and determine the influence that region, rind netting, and variety of melon has on the composition of the melon microbiome. Assessing the bacterial diversity of the microbiome on the melon rind can identify antagonistic and protagonistic bacteria for foodborne pathogens and spoilage organisms to improve melon safety, prolong shelf-life, and/or improve overall plant health. Bacterial community composition of melons (n = 603) grown in seven locations over a four-year period were used for 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and analysis to identify bacterial diversity and constituents. Statistically significant differences in alpha diversity based on the rind netting and growing region (p < 0.01) were found among the melon samples. Principal Coordinate Analysis based on the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity distance matrix found that the melon bacterial communities clustered more by region rather than melon variety (R2 value: 0.09 & R2 value: 0.02 respectively). Taxonomic profiling among the growing regions found Enterobacteriaceae, Bacillaceae, Microbacteriaceae, and Pseudomonadaceae present on the different melon rinds at an abundance of ≥ 0.1%, but no specific core microbiome was found for netted melons. However, a core of Pseudomonadaceae, Bacillaceae, and Exiguobacteraceae were found for non-netted melons. The results of this study indicate that bacterial diversity is driven more by the region that the melons were grown in compared to rind netting or melon type. Establishing the foundation for regional differences could improve melon safety, shelf-life, and quality as well as the consumers' health.

Cuticle properties, wax composition, and crystal morphology of Hami melon cultivars (Cucumis melo L.) with differential resistance to fruit softening

Cuticle wax chemicals are cultivar-dependent and contribute to storage quality. Few research reported on wax analysis between melting flesh-type (MF; ‘Jinhuami 25’) and nonmelting flesh-type (NMF; ‘Xizhoumi 17’ and ‘Chougua’) Hami melons. Chemicals and crystal structures of Hami melon cuticular wax, cell wall metabolism related to fruit melting, and fruit physiology were analyzed to observe wax functions. Results showed that Hami melon cuticle wax predominantly consists of esters, alkanes, alcohols, aldehydes, and terpenoids. MF-type has a lower alkane/terpenoid ratio, concomitant to its higher weight loss and cuticle permeability. Micromorphology of wax crystals appears as numerous platelets with irregular crystals, and the transformation of wax structure in NMF Hami melon is delayed. Waxy components affect cell wall metabolism and physiological quality, which results in the pulp texture difference between MF-type and NMF-type during storage. Results provide a reference for the regulation of wax synthesis in both types of melons.

Evaluation of the concentration and human health risk of nitrate and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in melons from a southern region of Iran: Identification of pollution sources

Decentralized agriculture, improper monitoring of cultivation conditions, and leaching of contaminants into lands led to the contamination of crops with various potentially toxic elements (PTEs). However, it is essential to know more about the profile level and associated risk of these contaminants and their origin, especially in high-water content crops. This study aimed to investigate the concentration of PTEs in melons of one of Iran's southern cities and follow that health risk assessment in the target population for the first time. Results of the present study confirmed that although the mean concentration of some metals was lower than the safety standard (Cr: 4.6 ± 2 mg/kg and Pb: 7.4 ± 4 mg/kg), their nutritional value was unfavorable regarding some micronutrients (Cu: 88.8 ± 27 mg/kg and Zn: 480 ± 275 mg/kg). The highest metal concentration in cantaloupe was iron (1706.47 mg/kg, p-value<0.05), and nitrate concentration in all melon types was 2.59–524.54 mg/kg (p-value<0.05). Principal component analysis (PCA) with K-means clustering and the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model have shown that contaminants in melons originated from human activities. So, excessive use of agricultural fertilizers is a possible source of nitrates in melons, which have 93 % of factor loading values. The health risk assessment also showed that melons' carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk using the deterministic method was lower than the permissible limit (HQ < 1, ILCR<E-4). However, the Monte Carlo simulation estimated HQ > 1 in the children group for the 95th percentile. Furthermore, the level of certainty in the carcinogenesis risk for children, women, and men was estimated at 86.48 %, 64.67 %, and 61.30 %, respectively. Also, the consumption rate was determined as the most important parameter in the sensitivity analysis. As a consequence, there is a potential health risk for Iranians after the consumption of melon due to PTEs and nitrate levels that also originated from anthropogenic sources.

A highly diversified NLR cluster in melon contains homologs that confer powdery mildew and aphid resistance.

Podosphaera xanthii is the main causal agent of powdery mildew (PM) on Cucurbitaceae. In Cucumis melo, the Pm-w resistance gene, which confers resistance to P. xanthii, is located on chromosome 5 in a cluster of nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs). We used positional cloning and transgenesis, to isolate the Pm-wWMR 29 gene encoding a coiled-coil NLR (CC-NLR). Pm-wWMR 29 conferred high level of resistance to race 1 of PM and intermediate level of resistance to race 3 of PM. Pm-wWMR 29 turned out to be a homolog of the Aphis gossypii resistance gene Vat-1PI 161375. We confirmed that Pm-wWMR 29 did not confer resistance to aphids, while Vat-1PI 161375 did not confer resistance to PM. We showed that both homologs were included in a highly diversified cluster of NLRs, the Vat cluster. Specific Vat-1PI 161375 and Pm-wWMR 29 markers were present in 10% to 13% of 678 accessions representative of wild and cultivated melon types worldwide. Phylogenic reconstruction of 34 protein homologs of Vat-1PI 161375 and Pm-wWMR 29 identified in 24 melon accessions revealed an ancestor with four R65aa-a specific motif in the LRR domain, evolved towards aphid and virus resistance, while an ancestor with five R65aa evolved towards PM resistance. The complexity of the cluster comprising the Vat/Pm-w genes and its diversity in melon suggest that Vat homologs may contribute to the recognition of a broad range of yet to be identified pests and pathogens.

THE EFFECT OF SEVERAL PLANTING MEDIA ON THE PERFORMANCE OF MELON (CUCUMIS MELO L.) MICROGREENS

Microgreens are vegetables that are harvested at young age with the cotyledons fully blooming but the true leaves not yet growing. Microgreens can be produced from several grain commodities such as melon seeds. In fact, melon seeds can be used as raw material of microgreens which have high economic value. There is limited information regarding melon seeds to make microgreens, regarding the use of planting media in the microgreens production, so research needs to be carried out regarding several planting media effect on the performance of microgreens. The research was conducted at the Experimental Garden and Integrated Laboratory of the Agroecotechnology Study Program, Trilogy University from March to April 2021. The research used Complete Randomized Block Design (CRBD) with two-factor and triplicate . The first factor was the type of melon which consists of mesh melon and golden melon. The second factor was the planting medium which consists of 4 types, namely, husk charcoal, sand, rockwool and zeolite. The research results showed that the planting medium and type of melon had a significant effect on the production of melon microgreens. The best medium for producing golden melon microgreens was sand, while for mesh melons was charcoal husks.

Number of replicates required to accurately evaluate the productivity and soluble solids in melon hybrids of the Inodorus group

Determining the number of replicates required to produce statistically testable results based on previously conducted tests is important to minimize labor costs via the use of existing information. The objective of this work was to determine the number of repetitions necessary to evaluate the characters of productivity and soluble solids in hybrids of two types of Inodorus melons. The study consisted of 20 experiments: 12 evaluated 10 hybrids of honeydew melons and 8 evaluated 13 hybrids of yellow melons. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks with three replicates. Analysis of variance was performed to estimate the repeatability and genotypic determination coefficients. Variability in accurately predicting the genotype was observed for different number of repetitions between the evaluated characters and melon types. In the yellow melon, experiments with three repetitions allowed the accurate identification of superior genotypes with 81.1 and 61.9% certainty for productivity and soluble solids, respectively. In the honeydew melon, 62.4 and 71.2% accuracy was obtained for productivity and soluble solids, respectively.

The haplotype-resolved T2T reference genome highlights structural variation underlying agronomic traits of melon.

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is an important vegetable crop that has an extensive history of cultivation. However, the genome of wild and semi-wild melon types that can be used for the analysis of agronomic traits is not yet available. Here we report a chromosome-level T2T genome assembly for 821 (C. melo ssp. agrestis var. acidulus), a semi-wild melon with two haplotypes of ~373Mb and ~364Mb, respectively. Comparative genome analysis discovered a significant number of structural variants (SVs) between melo (C. melo ssp. melo) and agrestis (C. melo ssp. agrestis) genomes, including a copy number variation located in the ToLCNDV resistance locus on chromosome 11. Genome-wide association studies detected a significant signal associated with climacteric ripening and identified one candidate gene CM_ac12g14720.1 (CmABA2), encoding a cytoplasmic short chain dehydrogenase/reductase, which controls the biosynthesis of abscisic acid. This study provides valuable genetic resources for future research on melon breeding.

Analysis of genetic diversity and population structure in Cambodian melon landraces using molecular markers

Genetic diversity of Cambodian melons was evaluated by the analysis of 12 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and 7 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers using 62 accessions of melon landraces and compared with 231 accessions from other areas for genetic characterization of Cambodian melons. Among 62 accessions, 56 accessions were morphologically classified as small-seed type with seed lengths shorter than 9 mm, as in the horticultural groups Conomon and Makuwa. Gene diversity of Cambodian melons was 0.228, which was equivalent to those of the groups Conomon and Makuwa and smaller than those of Vietnamese and Central Asian landraces. A phylogenetic tree constructed from a genetic distance matrix classified 293 accessions into three major clusters. Small-seed type accessions from East and Southeast Asia formed clusters I and II, which were distantly related with cluster III consisting of large-seed type melon from other areas. All Cambodian melons belonged to cluster I (except three accessions) along with those from Thailand, Myanmar, Yunnan (China), and Vietnam (“Dua thom” in the northwest), thus indicating genetic similarity in these areas. In addition, the Cambodian melons were not differentiated among geographical populations. Conomon and Makuwa were classified into cluster II, together with melon groups from the plains of Vietnam. The presence of two groups of melons in Southeast Asia was also indicated by population structure and principal coordinate analysis. These results indicated a close genetic relationship between Cambodia and the neighboring countries, thus suggesting that Cambodian melons are not directly related to the establishment of Conomon and Makuwa.

Breeding of Persian melon: Purpose to increase volatile compounds in melon (Cucumis melo) intergroup F1 cross population

AbstractUnderstanding the volatile profile of melon is an ever increasingly important task for breeders for enhancing their flavour component. For this purpose, F1 progeny and parental lines were analysed using headspace‐solid phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry‐based analysis. Diallel analysis showed that most of the investigated compounds were controlled via non‐additive genetic effects with general combining ability to specific combining ability ratios of less than 0.4. High heterosis results were observed in alcohols such as ethanol and octanol in both rind and mesocarp samples and benzylalcohol in the rind. It was also noted that the ester‐based compounds with high heterosis values in mesocarp samples differed from those with heterosis in rind samples. These observations further emphasize the non‐additive control of these compounds. It can be concluded that non‐additive genetic control is strongly governing the genetic profile within the studied progeny. This finding indicated that dudaim lines as a valuable genetic material enhanced the volatile profile of odourless commercial types of ameri and inodorus melon.

Aggressivity of Different Fusarium Species Causing Fruit Rot in Melons in Brazil

Brazil is one of the largest melon (Cucumis melo) producers in the world and most of the production is exported to international markets. Currently, over 15% of Brazilian melon shipments are lost during export transportation due to Fusarium fruit rot, which is jeopardizing the livelihood of Brazilian melon producers. We focused on understanding the aggressivity of five species of Fusarium causing fruit rot on the main types of melon produced in Brazil. We also investigated the correlation between pathogenicity and fruit quality. Experiments were performed under a completely randomized experimental design, in a 5 × 8 factorial scheme, using two methods for inoculation: deposition of discs of culture media containing fungal structures and deposition of spore suspensions in needle-punctured lesions. The fungal species used were Fusarium falciforme, F. sulawesiense, F. pernambucanum, F. kalimantanense, and Fusarium sp. Fruits of two hybrids from four types of melons, canary (Goldex and Gold Mine), piel de sapo (Grand Prix and Flecha Verde), galia (McLaren and DRG3228), and cantaloupe (SV1044MF and Bonsai), were used. Disease severity was assessed by measuring the lesions, disease severity index, fruit firmness, and degrees Brix of fruits. The five Fusarium species caused rot in the fruits of all melon hybrids studied and the aggressivity of those fungal species varied with the type and hybrid. Fruits of the hybrids McLaren and Bonsai presented the largest lesions among all melon hybrids, and hybrids of canary type (Gold Mine and Goldex) were the most tolerant to rot caused by the Fusarium species investigated. Furthermore, the greater the severity of Fusarium fruit rot, the lower the pulp firmness of the fruits, but degrees Brix did not correlate with the onset of the disease.

Differences in the Chemical Composition of Melon (Cucumis melo L.) Nectar Explain Flower Gender Preference by Its Pollinator, Apis mellifera

Melon is a pollinator-dependent crop that relies mainly on bees to set fruits. However, manselected varieties vary in their attractiveness to flower visitors, and some flower genders and melon types may be less visited than others, harming pollination. We investigated the nectar composition of male, female and hermaphrodite flowers of 270 individuals of five commercial melons Cucumis melo (Cantaloupe, Charentais, Galia, Piel de Sapo, and Yellow), and its role in flower visit by Apis mellifera foragers. We found that melon nectar is composed mainly of sugars and amino acids such as tyrosine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and flavonoids kaempferol3-O-neohesperidoside, luteolin hexoside, and kaempferol rhamnoside. But the amount of these chemical compounds varies among the flower genders. We also developed an accurate regression model to predict the number of bee visits to melon flowers based on the nectar composition. Our results indicate that nectar composition plays little role in bee discrimination among flowers of different melon types but is essential to the honeybee choice between flower gender. The amounts of phenylalanine (49.40%) and tryptophan (12.05%) in the nectar are related to bee preference for hermaphrodite flowers. More visits to hermaphrodite flowers contribute to setting and developing well-formed fruits, increasing productivity.

Selection of high-yielding, disease-resistant, promising, and export-oriented varieties of melons

In the top melon-producing nations in the world, numerous scientific research are being carried out to develop types that are suited for growing melons at various times, particularly in isolated and protected places, and to advance cultivation techniques. The technology to grow melons in greenhouses throughout the winter and varieties appropriate for growth in greenhouses have been developed in a number of nations, and ultra-fast and exportable melon types are now being cultivated. Increasing the melon gene pool and its export potential by increasing the variety of exportable cultivars is one of the critical issues of the present. In this research paper, high-yielding, high-quality melon varieties are investigated by the means of selection of high-yielding, disease-resistant, promising and exportable melon varieties of the Khorezm oasis. For the investigation, 8 different melon varieties such as Ko’k Gulobi, Khan qizi, Non go’sht, To’yona, Bijir. Bashak, Qari qiz and L oybek are selected. In relation to standard melon variety, L Oybek melon variety showed higher field germination rate, tasting value, yield and percentage of commodity yield share in comparison with other selected melon varieties. The experimental variety test of melons of Khorezm oasis was conducted in 2018-2019. At the Khorezm Scientific Experimental Station of the Scientific Research Institute of Vegetables, Melons and Potatoes, varieties of melons with high-yielding, high-quality characteristics were studied..

Bitki Büyümesini Arttırıcı Bazı Rhizobakteri Türlerinin Sulu ve Susuz Yetiştirilen Kavunlarda Meyve Kalitesi Üzerine Etkileri

It has been determined in many research results that plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) affect yield, plant growth and fruit quality and play an important role. However, the use of biostimulants in agricultural production in Malatya is negligible. In order to contribute to the region's producers, a research was planned directly in the producer's garden in the Malatya/Arguvan region, which is an important melon production center. A trial was established with Arguvan (Narmikan) melon type and Kırkağaç 637 melon cultivars, which are the most grown local cultivars in the summer period of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria in irrigated and non-irrigated melon cultivation in Malatya-Arguvan conditions, and the trial was repeated for two consecutive years. In the research, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus megatorium, Enterococcus spp. and cocktail bacteria solutions, which are a mixture of these three bacteria were used. Inoculation of bacteria into seeds was done by soaking the seeds in bacterial solution for 24 hours. The effects of the use of bacteria on the fruit quality of melon in cultivation with the method of seed sowing in the field were determined. In the study, the presented of which are resulted in fruit only pomological porperties ; fruit height, fruit weight, fruit flesh thickness, fruit shell thickness, fruit diameter, seed cavity diameter, pH and WTSS contents were examined, and two-year results were presented. The effects of different bacteria on the fruit pomological properties were not found statistically significant except for the TSS values of Kırkağaç 637 cultivars grown under non-irrigated conditions. The effects of different bacteria on the fruit pomological characteristics of Kırkağaç 637 melons grown under non-irrigated conditions were found statistically significant, although there were differences in other parameters, it was not statistically significant. Bacillus subtilis bacteria application has been the prominent bacterial application in terms of fruit characteristics.

Drying of Melons in a Solar Tunnel Dryer: The Effect of Ascorbic Acid Solution on Drying Kinetics and Color Parameters

This study aims to present the performance of the solar tunnel dryer, which is required for the drying of two different types of melon with and without pretreatment. The solar tunnel dryer used in the study was built at Isparta University of Applied Sciences, Department of Agricultural Machinery and Technologies Engineering. The dryer consists of a flat plate solar collector, drying tunnel, solar cell module and a small axial fan. During the drying process, solar radiation, drying air temperature, relative humidity and air velocity were measured continuously in different parts of the dryer. At the same time, the mass loss of the melon slices was measured every two hours during the drying period. On the other hand, colour measurements were made on untreated and pre-treated melon slices, fresh and after drying, before and after the trials. Fresh melon samples were washed with tap water, and cut in half with a knife, the core in the middle was removed and sliced by hand in a half-moon shape without peeling before pre-treatment. 1% ascorbic acid was applied to the fruits as a pretreatment. After the preparations, the solar tunnel drying behaviour of untreated and pretreated sliced melon samples was investigated. Drying characteristic curves were evaluated according to five different mathematical models. In this study, it was determined that the L*, a* and b* values of melon varieties were preserved without pretreatment. The lowest total color change was observed in the bleached samples in both types of melon samples.

Resistance of Tunisian Melon Landraces to Podosphaera xanthii

Powdery mildew caused by Podosphaera xanthii is among the most threatening fungal diseases affecting melons on the Mediterranean coast. Although the use of genetic resistance is a highly recommended alternative to control this pathogen, many races of this fungus have been described and, therefore, resistance is usually overcome; thus, breeding for resistance to this pathogen is a challenge. Several melon genotypes carrying resistance to powdery mildew have been described but their agronomical and fruit characters are usually far away from the required melon types in many commercial markets. Taking this into consideration, looking for novel sources of resistance in Tunisian landraces is a very convenient step to obtain new resistant melon varieties/hybrids suitable for Mediterranean markets. Several Tunisian melon landraces have been tested against three common races in Mediterranean regions (Race 2, Race 3.5, and Race 5), using phenotypic approaches in two independent experiments (artificial inoculations in a growth chamber and natural conditions of infection in a greenhouse). The results of the artificial inoculations showed that all the tested landraces were susceptible to Race 3.5 and Race 5 and several landraces were resistant to Race 2. Under natural conditions of infection, Race 2 of P. xanthii was the race prevalent in the plot and the resistance of TUN-16, TUN-19, and TUN-25 was confirmed. The found resistances were race-specific and underlie a high genetic influence reflected in the high value of the estimated heritability of 0.86. These resistant landraces should be considered as a potential source of resistance in breeding programs of melons belonging to inodorus and reticulatus groups, but further research is necessary to elucidate the genetic control of the found resistances and to provide useful molecular markers linked to P. xanthii Race 2 resistance.

Fruit Morphology and Ripening-Related QTLs in a Newly Developed Introgression Line Collection of the Elite Varieties 'Védrantais' and 'Piel de Sapo'.

Melon is an economically important crop with widely diverse fruit morphology and ripening characteristics. Its diploid sequenced genome and multiple genomic tools make this species suitable to study the genetic architecture of fruit traits. With the development of this introgression line population of the elite varieties 'Piel de Sapo' and 'Védrantais', we present a powerful tool to study fruit morphology and ripening traits that can also facilitate characterization or pyramidation of QTLs in inodorous melon types. The population consists of 36 lines covering almost 98% of the melon genome, with an average of three introgressions per chromosome and segregating for multiple fruit traits: morphology, ripening and quality. High variability in fruit morphology was found within the population, with 24 QTLs affecting six different traits, confirming previously reported QTLs and two newly detected QTLs, FLQW5.1 and FWQW7.1. We detected 20 QTLs affecting fruit ripening traits, six of them reported for the first time, two affecting the timing of yellowing of the rind (EYELLQW1.1 and EYELLQW8.1) and four at the end of chromosome 8 affecting aroma, abscission and harvest date (EAROQW8.3, EALFQW8.3, ABSQW8.3 and HARQW8.3). We also confirmed the location of several QTLs, such as fruit-quality-related QTLs affecting rind and flesh appearance and flesh firmness.

Postharvest performance interpretation and storage temperature optimization in some newly introduced melon hybrids

Temperature is a key factor in melon cold storage. Thus, optimizing storage temperature is an important goal in postharvest research. In this experiment, postharvest attributes of four inbred lines and five derivative hybrids were investigated under three storage temperatures (1, 4, and 12°C). Melon fruit were evaluated for their main characteristics directly after harvest and postharvest changes were monitored through cold storage period. Cluster analysis results showed that most of the hybrids clustered with their maternal parents illustrating the significant role of cytoplasmic inheritance for the studied traits. Similarly, principal component analysis clustered the studied types into three clusters according to their average postharvest behaviour. The best postharvest performance belonged to inodorus and cantalupensis netted melon with their intercrossing breeds. While the dudaim inbred line and its hybrid scored the highest postharvest changes. Response surface analysis showed that 1.8°C was the optimum storage temperature for inodorus and cantalupensis clusters, while 5.1°C was the best storage temperature of dudaim cluster. The results of the current study are similar to previous reports for optimum storage temperature in similar melon types.

Systematic genome-wide analysis of the ethylene-responsive ACS gene family: Contributions to sex form differentiation and development in melon and watermelon.

Ethylene is an important regulatory phytohormone for sex differentiation and flower development. As the rate-limiting enzyme encoding genes in ethylene biosynthesis, ACS gene family has been well studied in cucumber; however, little is known in other cucurbit crops, such as melon and watermelon, which show diverse sex types in the field. Here, we identified and characterized eight ACS genes each in the genomes of melon and watermelon. According to the conserved serine residues at C-terminal, all the ACS genes could be characterized into three groups, which were supported by the exon-intron organizations and conserved motif distributions. ACS genes displayed diverse tissue-specific expression patterns among four melon and three watermelon sex types. Furthermore, a comparative expression analysis in the shoot apex identified orthologous pairs with potential functions in sex determination, e.g., ACS1s and ACS6s. All ACS orthologs in melon and watermelon exhibited similar expression patterns in monoecious and gynoecious genotypes, except for ACS11s and ACS12s. As expected, the majority of ACS genes were responsive to exogenous ethephon; however, some orthologs exhibited opposite expression patterns, such as ACS1s, ACS9s, and ACS10s. Collectively, our findings provide valuable ACS candidates related to flower development in various sex types of melon and watermelon.

Development of a computer vision approach as a useful tool to assist producers in harvesting yellow melon in northeastern Brazil

This paper presents a Computer Vision (CV) approach to harvest decision of yellow melon (hybrid Natal®) based on prediction of Soluble Solids Content (SSC, as °Brix) from digital image. At this point, it is worth remembering that the minimum SSC for harvesting this type of melon is 9°Brix. In this context, melons with SSC ≥ 9°Brix should be classified as “suitable for harvesting” (SFH), whereas melons with SCC < 9°Brix should be classified as “unsuitable for harvesting” (UFH). Nonetheless, the visual decision of this harvest point is difficult due to the uniform yellow color of this melon's rind. To circumvent this problem and ensure quality (SSC ≥ 9°Brix), growers use the practice of taking pre-harvest melon samples to measure SSC by refractometry. However, this practice presents two problems: as it analyzes a limited number of samples, the result does not reflect the totality of the fruits; and because it is destructive, it causes the loss of marketable melons. Based on digital images, the hypothesis of this work states that it is possible to develop a non-destructive CV-based technique, which will allow growers to decide in real time whether each melon is suitable for harvesting or not. From the foregoing, the aim was to develop a simple, fast and inexpensive CV technique, based on the texture differences in the yellow color of this melon's rind, able of analyzing SSC (as °Brix) of all melons at harvest moment, classifying them as SFH or UFH. For this purpose, we used a digital camera to capture the image and a portable refractometer to quantify the SSC of each melon (n = 144). Melons were then divided into two classes with 72 melons each - SFH (SSC ≥ 9° Brix) or UFH (SSC < 9° Brix). In each image, we manually selected three (3) small regions (205 × 205 pixels), totaling 432 images (Image Database). From Image Database, 302 images (70%) were used for training, being one half (156 images) from SFH and the other half of the UFH. For the test, we used 130 images (30%) of the Image Database, being 67 images from SFH and 63 from UFH. Based on color filters (RGB average, Channel H, and Channel Y), textures (using Local Binary Pattern, LBP) and two classifiers (KNN or MLP), the developed CV-technique proved useful to predict SSC still in the field, as well as to classify melons into the two-kwon classes (SFH or UFH). The classifiers' performance has been verified by confusion matrix associated with the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis. The MLP obtained 95% accuracy, while the KNN obtained 94%. In addition, the combination of MLP (classifier) with the RGB average (color filter) presented the highest hits (accuracy), as well as the lowest false positive values. From the results obtained in this work, it is possible to conclude that the developed CV-method is useful for growers to classify yellow melon Natal® at the harvest moment.

Nutritional Composition and Health Benefits of Various Botanical Types of Melon (Cucumis melo L.).

Characterizing the diverse melon cultivars for nutrition aids in crop improvement and promoting a healthy diet. Here, we used in vitro assays to characterize the nutritional qualities and health-beneficial effects of 30 melon (Cucumis melo L.) genotypes, including 10 improved cultivars, 16 landraces, and 4 wild types collected from different parts of India. Two landraces (Sidoota and Alper Green) had the highest (12.20 and 11.25) total soluble solids (TSS) contents. The Sidoota and Pappusa landraces had high reducing sugar contents (2.84 and 2.81 mg g−1 fresh weight [FW]). The highest polyphenols contents (22.0 mg g−1 FW) were observed in the landraces Mage Kaayi-2, Budamekaayi, and Small Melon. Reflecting on the primary and secondary metabolite contents, the Mekke Kaayi and Giriyala landraces exhibited high 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity (97.6 and 91% at 100 μg mL−1). Additionally, seven of the landraces showed significant nitric oxide (NO) induction activity (>80% inhibition at 200 μg mL−1), indicating their potential health benefits, and seven showed considerable angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition activity (highest in Kashi Madhu), indicating their potential usefulness in reducing hypertension. Genotypes with high health beneficial compounds identified in this study can be used for breeding improved melon cultivars to promote these fruits as well as a healthy diet.