2016 North Carolina Melon Cultivar Evaluations Hort. Series # 216 Principle Investigators Jonathan R. Schultheis Keith D. Starke Professor and Extension Specialist, Research Associate, Vegetables Vegetables Department of Horticultural Science Department of Horticultural Science N.C. State University N.C. State University Raleigh, NC 27695-7609 Raleigh, NC 27695-7609 General Cultural Practices All melon trials were grown using recommended practices for commercial melon production in North Carolina. All plots in the study were under black plastic mulch and fertigated with drip irrigation. Furthermore, pesticides used on all plots were chemicals labeled for use on that crop, (2016 North Carolina Agricultural Chemicals Manual, (http://ipm.ncsu.edu/Agchem/agchem.html). Acknowledgments We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Phillip Winslow (Superintendent) and Chris Lee (Horticulture Crops Supervisor), Cunningham Research Station, Kinston, NC, as well as, the personnel at the research station for their help to establish, maintain, and harvest the cultivar evaluation trials. We want to also acknowledge the following summer research interns for their assistance with the trials: Steven Bajorek, Elizabeth Indemaur, Logan Haislip and Matt Hooper. The cooperation and support of the following seed companies is also greatly appreciated: Bayer Cropscience; DP Seeds, LLC; Hollar Seeds; Origene Seeds; Rijk Zwaan USA Inc.; Seminis; Syngenta Seeds, Inc.; US Agriseeds and United Genetics. Disclaimer This publication presents data from the cultivar evaluation trials conducted during 2016. Information in this report is believed to be reliable but should not be relied upon as a sole source of information. Limited accompanying detail is included but excludes some pertinent information, which may aid interpretation. i TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENT COVER PAGE, Title, Principle Investigators, Cooperators, Acknowledgments and Disclaimer .................................. i TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................................. ii 2016 Muskmelon and specialty melon cultural practices, Cunningham Research Station, Kinston, NC ................................................................................................................................................1-3 MUSKMELON ...................................................................................................................................................... 4-32 Figure 1 – Muskmelon photographs; 2016 ............................................................................................................... 4-14 Table 1 – Muskmelon cultivar yield by weight per acre and average fruit weight for early harvests ......................... 15 Table 2 – Muskmelon cultivar yield by number per acre and average fruit weight for early harvests ........................ 16 Table 3 – Muskmelon cultivar percent yield by category for early harvests ............................................................... 17 Table 4 – Muskmelon cultivar percent number by category for early harvests ........................................................... 18 Table 5 – Muskmelon cultivar yield by weight per acre and average fruit weight for middle harvests ...................... 19 Table 6 – Muskmelon cultivar yield by number per acre and average fruit weight for middle harvests ..................... 20 Table 7 – Muskmelon cultivar percent yield by category for middle harvests ............................................................ 21 Table 8 – Muskmelon cultivar percent number by category for middle harvests ........................................................ 22 Table 9 – Muskmelon cultivar yield by weight per acre and average fruit weight for late harvests ............................ 23 Table 10 – Muskmelon cultivar yield by number per acre and average fruit weight for late harvests ........................ 24 Table 11 – Muskmelon cultivar percent yield by category for late harvests ............................................................... 25 Table 12 – Muskmelon cultivar percent number by category for late harvests ........................................................... 26 Table 13 – Muskmelon cultivar cumulative yield by weight per acre and average fruit weight ................................. 27 Table 14 – Muskmelon cultivar cumulative yield by number of fruit per acre............................................................ 28 Table 15 – Muskmelon cultivar cumulative percent yield by category ....................................................................... 29 Table 16 – Muskmelon cultivar cumulative percent number by category ................................................................... 30 Table 17 – Muskmelon cultivar percentage harvested among harvest intervals .......................................................... 31 Table 18 – Muskmelon descriptive characteristics and interior fruit quality ............................................................... 32 ii 2016 Muskmelon Cultigen Trial; Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Financial Support, Cunningham Research Station, Kinston, NC Introduction Growers in the United States reported an increase of 8,300 acres for cantaloupe production in 2013 and this brought the total cantaloupe acreage to 74,730. However, the total value of the cantaloupe/muskmelon (orange flesh melons) crop was reported at $319 million in 2013, a decrease of $6 million from the previous year when the crop was valued at $325 million. Further reporting reflected seasonal fluctuations in domestic cantaloupe prices, however, they have shown a moderate decline from their price peak of 0.25 per lb in 1980 to a season-average of 0.18 per lb in 2013 (http://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/vegetables/melon-profile/). In North Carolina the acreage for cantaloupe/muskmelon production has not been published in recent years, although, it is estimated that 3,000 – 4,000 acres are grown in the state. The majority of the melons grown in the state over the last 20 years are the eastern type with ‘Athena’ being the principle cultivar produced. In addition to the eastern type cantaloupe/muskmelon, other orange flesh melons being grown on much smaller acreage include Extended Shelf Life (ESL) or Long Shelf Life (LSL) melons, often termed Harper melons; and a third type termed Italian (Tuscan) melons. The Extended or Long Shelf Life melons, as the name suggests, will hold for a longer period than the eastern type melons. However, it can be more difficult to determine readiness on ESL/LSL melons and this has delayed willingness from growers to move into larger scale production of these melons. Flesh firmness and sweetness tend to be greater in ESL/LSL melons when compared to the eastern melon types. The Italian (Tuscan) type melons tend to split easier than the ESL/LSL or eastern types and more intense management of the crop harvest may be necessary in order to minimize fruit loss due to splitting. In spite of these weaknesses with ESL/LSL and Italian (Tuscan) type melons, North Carolina growers have had some success in producing and marketing these newer melon types. In 2016 several new cultigens were evaluated in our melon field trial and we had a total of 21 advanced lines or cultivar entries (cultigens) from 9 seed companies. These entries were evaluated for yield, earliness, and various other qualities. The entries were as follows: Seed Company Bayer DP Hollar Rijk United US CS Seed Seed Origene Zwaan Seminis Syngenta Genetics Agriseed Advanced Line or Cultivar (Cultigen) HSR Caribbean SVMF UGR USAMR DuraWest Napoli 4414 Re-Start King 5196 Aphrodite 1594 13 15331 Maxi-East Tasty Santa Athena UGR USAMR Sherbet Monica 2101 14 15332 NUN-26181 Beach Astound NUN-26191 (ME 3716) UGR Accolade 2102 14 Sweet East (ME 3743) 1 Materials and Methods In February and March commercial seed companies were contacted to obtain seed for the muskmelon cultigen evaluation trial. Seed were sown into 72 cell Poly trays to grow transplants (Hummert Int.; Earth City, MO) on 14 April 2016. The planting medium used was a Fine Germinating Mix, a commercial soilless mix (SunGrow, Agawam, MA). A complete fertilizer (10-10-20 at 600 lbs/ac) was broadcast applied over the entire area that was planted on 14 April. Telone II fumigant (6.5 gal/ac) was soil injected in tandem with laying black polyethylene plastic mulch (0.70 mil thick high density plastic film, 48 inches wide; B.B. Hobbs, Clinton, NC) on 27 April. Herbicide products, Dual (1.5 pints/ac) and Sinbar (3 oz/ac), were applied to row middles for pre-emergent weed control on 10 May. Muskmelon transplants were approximately 3 weeks old when placed in a “hardening” greenhouse for 7 days prior to being established in the field on 11 May. A starter fertilizer solution was applied at transplant (0.5 lb/50 gal H2O of 20-20-20 fertilizer, water soluble). Plot size was one row with 10 plants per plot (20 ft) with in-row spacing of 2 feet and between row spacing of 5 feet. Field arrangement for the muskmelon cultigen trial was a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. Plots with missing plants were replanted approximately 7 days after transplanting to achieve 100% stand, in most cases. Drip irrigation was utilized (NETAFIM, 12 inch spacing, 0.24 gal/hr; NETAFIM, Tel Aviv, Israel) throughout the growing season. Fertigation, using a 7-0-7 liquid fertilizer, was initiated 15 days after planting