Joe Novak

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MELONS(muskmelons) Cucumis melo

• Joe Novak

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Cucurbitaceaegourd family, squash family, melon
family, cucumber family, etc.

• Citrullus lanatus watermelon
• Cucumis melo melon
• Cucumis sativus cucumber
• Cucurbita spp squashes and pumpkins
• Luffa spp sponge gourds
• Lagenaria siceraria bottle gourds
• Momordica charantia bitter gourd
• Sechium edule - chayote

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Melons

• Cucumis melo group Reticulatus muskmelons
• Cucumis melo group Cantalupensis cantaloupes
• Cucumis melo group Inodorus winter melons
• Cucumis melo group Conomon pickling melons
• Cucumis melo group Flexuosus snake melons
• Cucumis melo group Dudaim apple melons
• Cucumis melo group Makuwa Asian melons
• All are in one species and can easily be cross
  pollinated.
• All melons are warm season crops. Those that
  ripen after harvest can be stored and used in the
  winter.

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History

• Melons are native to Persia Iran, Afghanistan
  and adjacent parts of the middle east
• Melons have been eaten as food and used
  medicinally for a few thousand years
• Melons have long been spread to other parts of
  the world
• Melons have great diversity and different types
  have become popular in different areas of the
  world

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Pollination and Flowering habit

• Melons are pollinated by insects
• Melons can be monoecious and andromonoecious
• Andromonoecious is the most common type
• Male flowers and perfect flowers
• Plant produce round fruits
• Monoecious is less common
• Male flowers and female flowers
• Plant produces oval fruits

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Planting

• Light soil, good drainage, raised bed
• Full sun, near water for irrigation
• Seed or transplants
• Transplants about 3-4 weeks old
• Non-organic
• Complete fertilizer at planting
• starter solution for transplants
• Side dress at 3 to 4 weeks after planting
• Organic
• About an inch of compost over area of root zone

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Planting dates

• April and May plantings are best
• Plant at any time that there is enough time to
  grow them so that they ripen before frost
• Disease problems
• Effect of fall
• Day length
• temperature

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Problems

• Climate (desert)
• Prefer hot, dry climate with irrigation
• Diseases
• Powdery mildew, downy mildew, viruses
• Pests
• Rabbits, rats, opossums, people
• Insects
• Cucumber beetles, aphids

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Diseases
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Chart from The Worlds Healthiest Foods at
www.whfoods.org
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As a Food

• Fruit raw refreshing, especially in hot
  weather flesh of the fruit can be dried, ground
  into a powder and used with cereals when making
  bread, biscuits etc.
• Seed raw and roasted rich in oil with a nutty
  flavor but seed is small and covered with a
  fibrous coat seed contains between 12.5 - 39.1
  oil an edible oil is obtained from the seed
• Roasted seeds
• Similar to pumpkin seeds
• Very nutritious
• Interesting flavor

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Medicinal Properties

• fruits can be used as a cooling light cleanser or
  moisturizer for the skin
• fruits may be used as a first aid treatment for
  burns and abrasions
• flowers may be used as an expectorant and emetic
• fruit is stomachic
• seed is antitussive, digestive, febrifuge and
  vermifuge as a vermifuge, the whole seed
  complete with the seed coat is ground into a fine
  flour, then made into an emulsion with water and
  eaten then a purge is necessary to expel the
  tapeworms or other parasites from the body
• root is diuretic and emetic

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Cucurbitacin (s)

• Compounds in the cucurbits that make them taste
  like cucumbers
• Insecticidal properties to keep most pests off
  the plants
• Some are very bitter compounds
• Now being researched for their ability to stop
  the growth of some types of cancerous tumors

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Know when to harvest!

• Varies with different types of melons
• Muskmelons (North American Cantaloupes) and
  Israel melons do not ripen after harvest they
  change skin color and absciss from the plant
• Some types of true cantaloupes (European
  cantaloupes) can be harvested when near ripe
• Honeydews turn skin color and soften at blossom
  end
• Crenshaw turn to soft yellow-orange skin
• Christmas melon has green skin but shows hint of
  yellow
• Spanish or canary melons turn deeper yellow color

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Melons that ripen after harvest may be easier to
harvest

• Can pick them over a longer period of time and
  still get good quality
• Many have more obvious signs of ripeness
• Very heat tolerant and less likely to be overripe

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How to tell when ripeabscission layer, color,
blossom spot
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How to tell when ripeabscission layer, color,
blossom spot
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How to tell when ripeabscission layer, color,
blossom spot
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How to tell when ripeabscission layer, color,
blossom spot
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How to tell when ripeabscission layer, color,
blossom spot
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How to tell when ripeabscission layer, color,
blossom spot
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Carving Melons
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Tasting Melons

• Stage of ripeness is critical
• Fruits ripen from blossom end to stem end
• Can be a factor for large fruits
• Order of tasting is important
• Intensity of flavor
• Perception of sweetness