Melon

Abstract

Edible melons (Cucumis melo L.) are an important horticultural crop in tropical and subtropical regions, but they are also grown extensively in temperate countries. According to the FAO (www.fao.org), world production of cantaloupes and other melons in 2005 was about 28 million tons, with around 70% cultivated in Asia (Table 1). Because of the wide diversity of the family Cucurbitaceae, melons represent only about 15% of the total production of cucurbits (164 million tons) and of this, approximately 70% (129 million tons is cultivated in Asia. When compared with the production of other juicy tropical fruit, melons rank fourth (with over 27 million tons) after citrus (over 100 million tons), watermelons (over 90 million tons) and bananas (around 70 million tons), before mangoes, pineapples and papayas (Table 2). Thirty two species of the genus Cucumis have been recognised (Kirkbride 1993). The genus can be divided into the subgenus Cucumis with only two species, namely the domestic cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and wild cucumber (C. hystrix Chakravarty), both of Asian origin, and the subgenus Melo with 30 species, including the cultivated melon (C. melo L.) of African origin. Within the subgenus Melo, C. anguria L. and C. metuliferus Meyer (ex Naudin) are also cultivated, but on a smaller scale than melon or cucumber. C. sativus has a haploid chromosome number (n) of 7, while all the other species have n = 12, some of which are tetraploids or hexaploids.