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2018 North Carolina Orange Flesh Melon Cultigen Evaluations

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Horticulture Series # 227

Principle Investigators: Jonathan R. Schultheis, Professor and Vegetable Extension Specialist and Keith D. Starke, Research Associate, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7609.
Acknowledgments: We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Cathy Herring (Superintendent) and Charles Barrow (Horticulture Crops Supervisor), Central Crops Research Station, Clayton, NC, as well as, the personnel at the research station for their help to establish, maintain, and harvest the cultigen evaluation trials. We want to also acknowledge the following summer research assistants for their help with the study: Shannon Dexter, Chandler Fulmer, Ben Indermaur, Elizabeth Indermaur, Tanner Seay and graduate student Fernando Montero.

The cooperation and support of the following seed companies and university is also greatly appreciated: DP Seeds, LLC; HM Clause; Enza Zaden; Sakata Seed USA; Seminis; Syngenta Seeds, Inc.; Texas A&M University and VoloAgri/ US Agriseeds.

Financial Support: In addition to the seed companies, this program has been supported by the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, the North Carolina Agriculture Research Service, and the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. Support for this study was also provided by the National Center of Excellence for Melon at the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center of Texas A&M University through the following grant project: USDA-NIFA-SCRI-2017-51181-26834. We also want to acknowledge support for this study was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, for the CucCAP Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant under award number 2015-51181-24285.

General Cultural Practices

This melon study was grown using recommended practices for commercial melon production in North Carolina. All plots in the study used black plastic mulch and were fertigated with drip irrigation. Furthermore, pesticides used on all plots were chemicals labeled for use on that crop (2018 North Carolina Agricultural Chemicals Manual). View the pdf copy of the 2018 Orange flesh Melon Cultigen Evaluations.

Introduction

The acreage for melon production in North Carolina has not been published, however, it is estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 acres are produced in the state. In 2017 a survey of US growers estimated orange flesh melon production was 58,000 acres (USDA, National Agriculture Statistics Service). Since 2013, the US orange flesh melon crop has seen significant decreases in acreage (2013, 74,000 acres valued at 319 million) to 2017 when US acreage was reported to be 58,000 with a total crop value of 267 million. Further reporting showed domestic orange flesh melon prices have steadily declined from their peak of 0.25/lb in 1980 to a season-average of 0.18/lb in 2013. The majority of melons grown in North Carolina are eastern type with ‘Athena’ being the principle cultivar produced for more than two decades. In addition to the eastern shipper type orange flesh melon, other orange flesh melons are being grown on much smaller acreage include Extended Shelf Life (ESL); Long Shelf Life (LSL) melons, often termed Harper melons; and a third type termed Italian (Tuscan) melons. The ESL or LSL melons, as the name suggests, will hold for a longer period than the eastern type melons. Flesh firmness and sweetness tend to be higher in the ESL or LSL type melons. Greater flesh firmness allows the fruit to hold up better over time. This trait increases the shipability, a term often referred to as giving the fruit ‘better legs’. It can be more difficult to determine readiness on LSL melons and this has delayed willingness from growers in part to move into larger scale production of these melons. More recently, the release of new cultigens with ESL traits have performed well for growers and have received favorable support from consumers. Two such examples would be ‘Accolade’ and ‘Astound’ that were released by Syngenta in 2016. It is reported that these new cultivars comprise as much as 30% of the market, taking some market share from ‘Athena’. 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 challenges with ESL/LSL and Italian (Tuscan) type melons, North Carolina growers have had some success in producing and marketing these newer melon types. In 2018 several new cultigens were evaluated in our melon field study and we had a total of 24 advanced lines or cultivar entries (cultigens) from 7 seed companies and 1 University. All entries were evaluated for yields, earliness, and various other qualities.

Materials and Methods

In February and March commercial seed companies were contacted to obtain seed for the orange flesh melon cultigen evaluation study. Seed were sown into 72 cell Poly trays to grow transplants (Hummert Int.; Earth City, MO) on 13 April 2018. The planting medium used was a Fine Germinating Mix, a commercial soilless mix (SunGro, Agawam, MA). In November 2017 the field study area (0.28 acre) was fumigated with Telone 17 and a cover crop was established. On 23 March 2018 the field study area was plowed using a disc harrow and then cultivated on 27 March.

A complete fertilizer (12-6-24 @ 400 lbs/ac) was broadcast applied and black polyethylene plastic mulch (0.70 mil thick high density plastic film, 48 inches wide; B.B. Hobbs, Clinton, NC) was laid in the field on 23 March.
Herbicide products, Prefar (5 qt/ac), Sonolan (4 pt/ac) and Honcho Plus (2 pt/ac) were applied to row middles for pre-emergent weed control on 4 May. Orange flesh melon transplants were approximately 3 weeks old when placed in a “hardening” greenhouse for 7 days prior to being established in the field on 21 May. A starter fertilizer was applied at transplant (0.5 lb of 20-20-20, water soluble fertilizer/50 gal H2O).

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 orange flesh melon cultigen study was a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. Plots that were 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 with 7-0-7 liquid fertilizer was initiated 9 days after planting and applied weekly, thereafter. The first application of liquid fertilizer (2.5 gal) was applied through the drip tube on 30 May and the last application (3.5 gal) was applied 1 August. Fertilizer was applied either preplant or through fertigation in this study. Total amount of fertilizer applied through fertigation for the season was 39 lbs/ac of N and 39 lbs/ac of K²O. The total amount of fertilizer applied for the entire growing season was 87 lbs/ac of N, 24 lbs/ac of P²O5 and 135 lbs/ac of K²O.

Insecticides were applied as needed throughout the growing season beginning 31 May and followed by subsequent applications on 6, 13, 20 and 27 June; 3, 18 and 25 July 2018. The following insecticide products were alternated throughout the season to avoid potential resistance development in insect species; Asana, Assail, Endosulfan, and FanFare. Similarly, the following fungicide products were applied; Presidio, Pristine, Proline, Procure, Quadris, Ranman, Switch and Zampro; and applied on the following dates; 31 May; 6, 13, 20 and 27 June; 3, 18 and 25 July;
and 7 August 2018.

There were 12 total harvests of the orange flesh melon cultigens. The first harvest was 9 July 2018 and the twelfth harvest was 3 August 2018. Harvests occurred three times per week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Evaluations of each melon entry included; yield, fruit size, production earliness, soluble solids (using a digital refractometer, Atago, Vernon Hills, IL), fruit shape and size and interior flesh firmness. Flesh firmness was measured (recorded in pounds) by using a Penetrometer FT 011 with a 5/16” plunger tip, (QA Supplies LLC, Norfolk, VA). Melon samples were obtained by cutting through the ground spot of the fruit, lengthwise, from the fruit’s stem end to blossom end. Flesh firmness (measured in pressure) measurements were taken between the interior fruit cavity and the rind (near fruit bottom or ground spot and one from the top of the fruit) on one-half of the cut fruit. The reported measures on flesh firmness are an average of the two sample areas from five fruit per plot (10 total fruit firmness measures were obtained per plot). The majority of quality measurements were taken when the melons became ripe between the first and fourth harvests for a given cultigen.

The field and growing conditions throughout the harvest period were normal for this study. Rainfall for the season was above average rainfall throughout the season. Optimal ambient temperatures that allowed for good plant growth and fruit set within all the cultigen plots. This study was established in the field nearly 3 weeks later than in 2017; however, the crop grew off quickly with fruit harvests nearly coinciding to the previous year.
Six entries included in the study were submitted from Texas A&M. Those cultigens were Davinci, F39, HD150, HD252, Infinite Gold and OC164. Fruits from these cultigens were shipped to Texas and Arizona to be evaluated as part of a food safety and soil borne pathogen evaluation study. HD150 and HD252 are honeydew melons, OC164 is an orange casaba melon, while the other 3 entries are orange flesh melons.

Results

In the early harvests (1-4), entries that yielded over 200 cwt per acre were Athena, Master’s Choice, Napoli, and Oui (Table 1). The highest yielding entries based on fruit numbers that exceeded 4,000 fruit per acre for early harvests
(1-4) were Athena, HMX4606, Master’s Choice, Napoli, Oui, SVML2502, USAM 14836 (Table 2). The 3 to 7 lb. size category had the highest percentage of fruit produced from the early yielding entries with the exception of SVML2690 that produced fruits that were ≤ 3 pounds. Fruits ranging from 3 to 7 pounds are the most desirable and marketable size category for orange flesh melons (Tables 3 & 4) in eastern US markets.

The highest yielding entries for fruit weight, in the mid-season harvests (5-8), that yielded over 400 cwt per acre were OC164 and USAM 16141 (Table 5). The entries that yielded the highest (> 6,000 fruit number) in the mid- season (harvests 5-8) were Davinci, Infinite Gold, SVML2690 and USAM 14837 (Table 6). Most fruits produced from these entries were between 3 to 7 lbs., with the exception of SVML2690 which produced fruits ≤ 3 lbs. (Tables 7 & 8). Fruits that weigh ≤ 3 lb. category would ordinarily be culled in eastern US markets other markets, however, other markets in the US sell smaller sized fruits.

Some of the latest yielding (harvests 9-13) melon entries that exceeded 100 cwt per acre were El Gordo, F39, HD150, and HD252 (Table 9). Average fruit size for these entries were 13.7, 4.0, 5.5, and 5.6 lbs, respectively. (Table 9). El Gordo, OC164 and USAM 16155 yielded fruits that weighed mostly above 7.1 lbs. (Table 11).

The highest yielding entries across all harvests, in terms of tonnage (> 450 cwt/acre) were El Gordo, Electra, HD252, Lily, Master’s Choice, OC164, USAM 16141 and USAM 16155 (Table 13). The melon entries that produced the greatest number of fruit per acre (> 9,000) across all harvests were DaVinci, Electra, Infinite Gold, Master’s Choice, Oui, F39, SVML2502, SVML2690, and USAM 14836 (Table 14).


Figure 1. Orange Flesh Melon photographs  Clayton, NC, 2018 on pages 4 – 15 of the booklet.

Cultigen

Company

Accolade Syngenta
Athena Syngenta
DaVinci Sakata / Texas A&M*
El Gordo DP Seeds, LLC
Electra DP Seeds, LLC
Infinite Gold Sakata / Texas A&M*
Kapaz ENZA ZADEN
Kazta ENZA ZADEN
Lilly DP Seeds, LLC
Master’s Choice DP Seeds, LLC
Napoli DP Seeds, LLC
Oui DP Seeds, LLC
F39 Texas A&M
HD150 Texas A&M
HD252 Texas A&M
HMX 4606 HM Clause
OC164 Texas A&M
SVML2502 Seminis
SVML2690 Seminis
SVML8346 Seminis
USAM 14836 VOLOAGRI/ US Agriseeds
USAM 14837 VOLOAGRI/ US Agriseeds
USAM 16141 VOLOAGRI/ US Agriseeds
USAM 16155 VOLOAGRI/ US Agriseeds

* These entries are seed developed by Sakata but were submitted by Texas A&M University.


Table 1. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields, Fruit weight, (x 100), per acre for early¹ season harvests 1 – 4. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen

Fruit size category

Totals 2

 Avg. Wt.

 ≤ 3.0 lb

 3.1 – 7.0 lb

 7.1 – 9.0 lb

  ≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 150 24 0 174 5.5
Athena 0 202 24 0 226 4.9
DaVinci 3 12 0 0 14 3.0
El Gordo4 0 0 0 12 12 11.3
Electra 9 148 0 0 157 4.4
Infinite Gold 3 21 0 0 24 4.1
Kapaz 0 6 0 0 6 5.3
Kazta 0 4 0 0 4 3.3
Lilly 0 30 44 21 95 7.0
Master’s Choice 14 344 0 0 358 4.2
Napoli 8 207 0 0 215 4.4
Oui 25 187 0 0 212 3.8
F39 11 63 0 0 74 3.8
HD150 0 0 8 0 8 7.1
HD252 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
HMX 4606 8 183 0 0 191 4.5
OC164 0 0 9 11 20 9.1
SVML2502 45 145 0 0 190 3.4
SVML2690 42 21 0 0 63 2.4
SVML8346 2 120 8 0 130 4.7
USAM 14836 6 193 0 0 199 4.1
USAM 14837 0 67 0 0 67 4.7
USAM 16141 0 19 9 0 28 5.3
USAM 16155 0 48 25 43 116 7.6
Average 7 90 6 4 108 4.9
LSD (0.05) 15 72 33 57 67 1.2

Early harvests (1-4) : 9 July – 16 July (77 – 84 days after planting).
2 Totals include all fruit size categories and is rounded to the nearest whole number.
3 Average fruit weights were determined using total weights and numbers from respective harvests
4 This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery
markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.


Table 2. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields, Fruit number per acre for early¹ season harvests 1-4. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen

Fruit size category

Totals 2

≤ 3.0 lb

3.1 – 7.0 lb

7.1 – 9.0 lb

≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 2940 327 0 3267
Athena 0 4356 327 0 4683
DaVinci 109 327 0 0 436
El Gordo3 0 0 0 109 109
Electra 327 3267 0 0 3594
Infinite Gold 109 436 0 0 545
Kapaz 0 109 0 0 109
Kazta 0 109 0 0 109
Lilly 0 545 545 218 1307
Master’s Choice 545 7950 0 0 8494
Napoli 327 4465 0 0 4792
Oui 980 4574 0 0 5554
F39 436 1525 0 0 1960
HD150 0 0 109 0 109
HD252 0 0 0 0 0
HMX 4606 327 3920 0 0 4247
OC164 0 0 109 109 218
SVML2502 1742 3812 0 0 5554
SVML2690 1960 653 0 0 2614
SVML8346 109 2505 109 0 2723
USAM 14836 218 4465 0 0 4683
USAM 14837 0 1416 0 0 1416
USAM 16141 0 436 109 0 545
USAM 16155 0 762 327 436 1525
Average 300 2024 82 36 2441
LSD (0.05) 580 1561 428 569 1406

¹ Early harvests (1-4) : 9 July – 16 July (77 – 84 days after planting).
² Totals include all fruit size categories.
³ This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for
grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.
** Each number for fruit size category and total is rounded to the nearest whole number.**


Table 3. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit weight perindicated size category – early season harvests 1- 4. Clayton, NC, 2018.

 Cultigen

Fruit size category

 ≤ 3.0 lb

 3.1 – 7.0 lb

 7.1 – 9.0 lb

 ≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 86 14 0
Athena 0 89 11 0
DaVinci 18 82 0 0
El Gordo2 0 0 0 100
Electra 6 94 0 0
Infinite Gold 12 88 0 0
Kapaz 0 100 0 0
Kazta 0 100 0 0
Lilly 0 31 47 22
Master’s Choice 4 96 0 0
Napoli 4 96 0 0
Oui 12 88 0 0
F39 15 85 0 0
HD150 0 0 100 0
HD252 0 0 0 0
HMX 4606 4 96 0 0
OC164 0 0 45 55
SVML2502 24 76 0 0
SVML2690 66 34 0 0
SVML8346 2 92 6 0
USAM 14836 3 97 0 0
USAM 14837 0 100 0 0
USAM 16141 0 69 31 0
USAM 16155 0 41 22 37
Average 7 68 12 9

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest whole number.
² This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.


Table 4. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit number per indicated size category – early season harvests 1-4. Clayton, NC, 2018.

 Cultigen

Fruit size category

 ≤ 3.0 lb

 3.1 – 7.0 lb

 7.1 – 9.0 lb

 ≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 90 10 0
Athena 0 93 7 0
DaVinci 25 75 0 0
El Gordo2 0 0 0 100
Electra 9 91 0 0
Infinite Gold 20 80 0 0
Kapaz 0 100 0 0
Kazta 0 100 0 0
Lilly 0 42 42 17
Master’s Choice 6 94 0 0
Napoli 7 93 0 0
Oui 18 82 0 0
F39 22 78 0 0
HD150 0 0 100 0
HD252 0 0 0 0
HMX 4606 8 92 0 0
OC164 0 0 50 50
SVML2502 31 69 0 0
SVML2690 75 25 0 0
SVML8346 4 92 4 0
USAM 14836 5 95 0 0
USAM 14837 0 100 0 0
USAM 16141 0 80 20 0
USAM 16155 0 50 21 29
Average 10 68 11 8

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest whole number.
² This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.


Table 5. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields, fruit weight, (x 100), per acre for mid¹ season harvests 5 – 8. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen

Fruit size category

Totals 2

 Avg. Wt.

 ≤ 3.0 lb

 3.1 – 7.0 lb

 7.1 – 9.0 lb

  ≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 95 48 0 143 5.6
Athena 0 88 8 0 97 5.7
DaVinci 22 221 0 0 244 3.6
El Gordo4 0 14 19 343 375 12.4
Electra 9 204 25 0 238 4.9
Infinite Gold 11 302 15 0 328 4.8
Kapaz 0 283 59 0 342 5.6
Kazta 16 172 0 0 187 3.9
Lilly 0 185 69 117 371 7.1
Master’s Choice 8 37 0 0 45 3.2
Napoli 6 99 0 0 105 4.7
Oui 17 103 0 0 121 4.1
F39 10 172 0 0 182 4.3
HD150 0 108 89 64 261 7.1
HD252 0 106 167 81 353 7.8
HMX 4606 3 74 0 0 77 5.2
OC164 0 40 87 300 427 9.8
SVML2502 18 87 0 0 105 3.6
SVML2690 102 87 0 0 189 2.8
SVML8346 25 185 25 0 235 4.5
USAM 14836 7 126 0 10 143 4.2
USAM 14837 15 269 41 0 325 4.6
USAM 16141 0 305 114 20 440 5.7
USAM 16155 0 49 106 90 245 7.9
Average 11 142 36 43 232 5.5
LSD (0.05) 27 88 71 136 114 1.7

1 Mid harvests (5-8) : 18 July –  25 July (86 – 93 days after planting).
2 Totals include all fruit size categories and is rounded to the nearest whole number.
3 Average fruit weights were determined using total cumulative weights and numbers from respective harvests.
4 This cultivar produced ripe fruit that is predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.


Table 6. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields, Fruit number per acre for mid¹ season harvests 5 – 8. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen

Fruit size category

Totals 2

≤ 3.0 lb

3.1 – 7.0 lb

7.1 – 9.0 lb

≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 1851 653 0 2505
Athena 0 1634 109 0 1742
DaVinci 871 5990 0 0 6861
El Gordo3 0 218 218 2723 3158
Electra 327 3920 327 0 4574
Infinite Gold 436 6207 218 0 6861
Kapaz 0 5227 762 0 5990
Kazta 653 4138 0 0 4792
Lilly 0 3267 871 1089 5227
Master’s Choice 327 980 0 0 1307
Napoli 218 2069 0 0 2287
Oui 653 2396 0 0 3049
F39 436 3920 0 0 4356
HD150 0 1851 1089 653 3594
HD252 0 1742 2069 762 4574
HMX 4606 109 1416 0 0 1525
OC164 0 653 1089 2614 4356
SVML2502 762 2069 0 0 2831
SVML2690 4247 2505 0 0 6752
SVML8346 980 3703 327 0 5009
USAM 14836 327 2723 0 109 3158
USAM 14837 653 5772 545 0 6970
USAM 16141 0 5990 1416 218 7623
USAM 16155 0 871 1307 871 3049
Average 458 2963 458 377 4256
LSD (0.05) 1083 1701 912 1221 1778

1 Mid harvests (5-8) : 18 July – 25 July (86 – 93 days after planting).
2 Totals include all fruit size categories.
3 This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for
grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.
** Each number for fruit size category and total is rounded to the nearest whole number.**


Table 7. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit weight per indicated size category – mid season harvests 5-8. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen

Fruit size category

≤ 3.0 lb

3.1 – 7.0 lb

7.1 – 9.0 lb

≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 66 34 0
Athena 0 92 8 0
DaVinci 9 91 0 0
El Gordo2 0 4 5 91
Electra 4 86 10 0
Infinite Gold 3 92 5 0
Kapaz 0 83 17 0
Kazta 8 92 0 0
Lilly 0 50 19 32
Master’s Choice 17 83 0 0
Napoli 6 94 0 0
Oui 14 86 0 0
F39 5 95 0 0
HD150 0 41 34 25
HD252 0 30 47 23
HMX 4606 4 96 0 0
OC164 0 9 20 70
SVML2502 17 83 0 0
SVML2690 54 46 0 0
SVML8346 11 79 11 0
USAM 14836 5 88 0 7
USAM 14837 4 83 13 0
USAM 16141 0 69 26 5
USAM 16155 0 20 43 37
Average 7 69 12 12

1 Percentages for each fruit size category and for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest
whole number.
2 This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for
for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.


Table 8. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit number per indicated size category – mid season harvest 5-8. Clayton, NC, 2018.

 Cultigen

Fruit size category

 ≤ 3.0 lb

 3.1 – 7.0 lb

 7.1 – 9.0 lb

 ≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 74 26 0
Athena 0 94 6 0
DaVinci 13 87 0 0
El Gordo2 0 7 7 86
Electra 7 86 7 0
Infinite Gold 6 90 3 0
Kapaz 0 87 13 0
Kazta 14 86 0 0
Lilly 0 63 17 21
Master’s Choice 25 75 0 0
Napoli 10 90 0 0
Oui 21 79 0 0
F39 10 90 0 0
HD150 0 52 30 18
HD252 0 38 45 17
HMX 4606 7 93 0 0
OC164 0 15 25 60
SVML2502 27 73 0 0
SVML2690 63 37 0 0
SVML8346 20 74 7 0
USAM 14836 10 86 0 3
USAM 14837 9 83 8 0
USAM 16141 0 79 19 3
USAM 16155 0 29 43 29
Average 10 69 11 10

1 Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest whole number.
2 This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for
for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.


Table 9. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields, Fruit weight, (x 100), per acre for late¹ season harvests 9 – 12. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen

Fruit size category

Totals 2

 Avg. Wt.

 ≤ 3.0 lb

 3.1 – 7.0 lb

 7.1 – 9.0 lb

  ≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 32 16 0 48 6.5
Athena 0 25 0 0 25 5.7
DaVinci 24 46 0 0 69 3.0
El Gordo4 0 0 25 255 280 13.7
Electra 8 45 16 0 69 4.5
Infinite Gold 9 68 0 0 77 4.2
Kapaz 14 45 0 0 58 4.3
Kazta 3 93 0 0 95 4.1
Lilly 0 11 0 0 11 5.1
Master’s Choice 10 57 0 0 68 5.0
Napoli 6 42 0 0 48 4.0
Oui 8 42 0 0 50 4.6
F39 15 78 10 0 102 4.0
HD150 0 137 16 0 153 5.5
HD252 0 80 26 0 106 5.6
HMX 4606 5 43 0 0 48 4.0
OC164 0 5 0 10 15 6.8
SVML2502 11 23 0 0 34 3.1
SVML2690 30 30 0 0 60 2.8
SVML8346 5 15 0 0 20 2.9
USAM 14836 6 57 8 0 70 4.1
USAM 14837 3 15 0 0 18 3.9
USAM 16141 0 16 0 0 16 3.4
USAM 16155 0 41 50 0 92 6.0
Average 7 44 7 11 68 4.9
LSD (0.05) 18 44 39 220 62 1.7

1 Late harvests (9-12) : 27 July – 3 August (95 – 102 days after planting).
2 Cumulative total includes all fruit size categories.
3 Average fruit weights were determined using total weights and numbers from respective harvests.
4 This cultivar produced ripe fruit that is predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.


Table 10. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields, Fruit number per acre for late¹ season harvests 9 – 12. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen

Fruit size category

Totals 2

≤ 3.0 lb

3.1 – 7.0 lb

7.1 – 9.0 lb

≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 545 218 0 762
Athena 0 436 0 0 436
DaVinci 980 1307 0 0 2287
El Gordo3 0 0 327 1742 2069
Electra 327 871 218 0 1416
Infinite Gold 327 1525 0 0 1851
Kapaz 545 871 0 0 1416
Kazta 109 2178 0 0 2287
Lilly 0 218 0 0 218
Master’s Choice 436 1198 0 0 1634
Napoli 218 980 0 0 1198
Oui 327 871 0 0 1198
F39 762 1851 109 0 2723
HD150 0 2505 218 0 2723
HD252 0 1525 327 0 1851
HMX 4606 218 980 0 0 1198
OC164 0 109 0 109 218
SVML2502 436 653 0 0 1089
SVML2690 1307 871 0 0 2178
SVML8346 218 436 0 0 653
USAM 14836 218 1416 109 0 1742
USAM 14837 109 327 0 0 436
USAM 16141 0 436 0 0 436
USAM 16155 0 871 653 0 1525
Average 272 958 91 77 1398
LSD (0.05) 797 933 506 1537 1158

1 Late harvests (9-12) : 27 July – 3 August (95 – 102 days after planting).
2 Cumulative total includes all fruit size categories.
3 This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for
grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.
* Data entered as zeros were not included in statistical analysis.
** Each number for fruit size category and total is rounded to the nearest whole number.**


Table 11. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit weight per indicated size category – late season harvests 9-12. Clayton, NC, 2018.

 Cultigen

Fruit size category

 ≤ 3.0 lb

 3.1 – 7.0 lb

 7.1 – 9.0 lb

 ≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 67 33 0
Athena 0 100 0 0
DaVinci 34 66 0 0
El Gordo2 0 0 9 91
Electra 12 65 23 0
Infinite Gold 11 89 0 0
Kapaz 23 77 0 0
Kazta 3 97 0 0
Lilly 0 100 0 0
Master’s Choice 15 85 0 0
Napoli 12 88 0 0
Oui 16 84 0 0
F39 15 76 9 0
HD150 0 90 10 0
HD252 0 76 24 0
HMX 4606 11 89 0 0
OC164 0 31 0 69
SVML2502 32 68 0 0
SVML2690 50 50 0 0
SVML8346 26 74 0 0
USAM 14836 8 81 11 0
USAM 14837 15 85 0 0
USAM 16141 0 100 0 0
USAM 16155 0 45 55 0
Average 12 74 7 7

1 Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest  whole number.
2 This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market  opportunities.


Table 12. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit number per indicated size category; Late Season harvests 9-12. Clayton, NC, 2018.

 Cultigen

Fruit size category

 ≤ 3.0 lb

 3.1 – 7.0 lb

 7.1 – 9.0 lb

 ≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 71 29 0
Athena 0 100 0 0
DaVinci 43 57 0 0
El Gordo2 0 0 16 84
Electra 23 62 15 0
Infinite Gold 18 82 0 0
Kapaz 38 62 0 0
Kazta 5 95 0 0
Lilly 0 100 0 0
Master’s Choice 27 73 0 0
Napoli 18 82 0 0
Oui 27 73 0 0
F39 28 68 4 0
HD150 0 92 8 0
HD252 0 82 18 0
HMX 4606 18 82 0 0
OC164 0 50 0 50
SVML2502 40 60 0 0
SVML2690 60 40 0 0
SVML8346 33 67 0 0
USAM 14836 13 81 6 0
USAM 14837 25 75 0 0
USAM 16141 0 100 0 0
USAM 16155 0 57 43 0
Average 17 71 6 6

1 Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest whole number.
2 This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.


Table 13. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields¹, Fruit weight, (x 100), per acre across all 12 harvests. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen

Fruit size category

Totals 2

 Avg. Wt.

 ≤ 3.0 lb

 3.1 – 7.0 lb

 7.1 – 9.0 lb

  ≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 277 88 0 366 5.5
Athena 0 316 32 0 348 5.1
DaVinci 49 279 0 0 327 3.4
El Gordo4 0 14 43 610 667 12.6
Electra 26 397 41 0 463 4.8
Infinite Gold 22 391 15 0 429 4.6
Kapaz 14 333 59 0 406 5.4
Kazta 18 268 0 0 286 4.0
Lilly 0 226 113 138 477 7.0
Master’s Choice 32 438 0 0 471 4.1
Napoli 20 347 0 0 367 4.4
Oui 50 333 0 0 383 3.9
F39 36 314 10 0 360 4.0
HD150 0 245 112 64 422 6.5
HD252 0 186 192 81 459 7.2
HMX 4606 17 300 0 0 317 4.5
OC164 0 44 96 321 461 9.6
SVML2502 73 255 0 0 328 3.4
SVML2690 174 139 0 0 313 2.7
SVML8346 32 320 33 0 386 4.6
USAM 14836 18 376 8 10 413 4.3
USAM 14837 17 351 41 0 410 4.6
USAM 16141 0 340 122 20 483 5.6
USAM 16155 0 139 181 133 453 7.3
Average 25 276 50 57 408 5.4
LSD (0.05) 14 18 10 12 14 1.0

1 Melons were harvested 3 times per week.
2 Totals include all fruit size categories.
3 Average fruit weights were determined using total cumulative weights and numbers from
respective harvests.
4 This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets.
May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.
** Each number for fruit size category and total is rounded to the nearest whole number.**


Table 14. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields¹, Fruit number per acre across all 12 harvests. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen

Fruit size category

Totals 2

≤ 3.0 lb

3.1 – 7.0 lb

7.1 – 9.0 lb

≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 5336 1198 0 6534
Athena 0 6425 436 0 6861
DaVinci 1960 7623 0 0 9583
Electra 980 8059 545 0 9583
El Gordo3 0 218 545 4574 5336
Infinite Gold 871 8168 218 0 9257
Kapaz 545 6207 762 0 7514
Kazta 762 6425 0 0 7187
Lilly 0 4029 1416 1307 6752
Master’s Choice 1307 10128 0 0 11435
Napoli 762 7514 0 0 8276
Oui 1960 7841 0 0 9801
F39 1634 7296 109 0 9039
HD150 0 4356 1416 653 6425
HD252 0 3267 2396 762 6425
HMX 4606 653 6316 0 0 6970
OC164 0 762 1198 2831 4792
SVML2502 2940 6534 0 0 9474
SVML2690 7514 4029 0 0 11543
SVML8346 1307 6643 436 0 8385
USAM 14836 762 8603 109 109 9583
USAM 14837 762 7514 545 0 8821
USAM 16141 0 6861 1525 218 8603
USAM 16155 0 2505 2287 1307 6098
Average 1030 5944 631 490 8095
LSD (0.05) 1397 1832 1013 1159 1437

1 Melons were routinely harvested 3 times per week.
2 Totals include all fruit size categories.
** Each number for fruit size category and cumulative total is rounded to the nearest
whole number.***


Table 15. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit weight per indicated size category – Cumulative harvests (12). Clayton, NC, 2018.

 Cultigen

Fruit size category

 ≤ 3.0 lb

 3.1 – 7.0 lb

 7.1 – 9.0 lb

 ≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 76 24 0
Athena 0 91 9 0
DaVinci 15 85 0 0
Electra 6 86 9 0
El Gordo2 0 2 7 91
Infinite Gold 5 91 4 0
Kapaz 3 82 15 0
Kazta 6 94 0 0
Lilly 0 47 24 29
Master’s Choice 7 93 0 0
Napoli 5 95 0 0
Oui 13 87 0 0
F39 10 87 3 0
HD150 0 58 27 15
HD252 0 40 42 18
HMX 4606 5 95 0 0
OC164 0 10 21 70
SVML2502 22 78 0 0
SVML2690 56 44 0 0
SVML8346 8 83 9 0
USAM 14836 4 91 2 3
USAM 14837 4 86 10 0
USAM 16141 0 70 25 4
USAM 16155 0 31 40 29
Average 7 71 11 11

1 Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest whole number. 
2 This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.


Table 16. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit number per indicated size category – Cumulative harvests (12). Clayton, NC, 2018.

 Cultigen

Fruit size category

 ≤ 3.0 lb

 3.1 – 7.0 lb

 7.1 – 9.0 lb

 ≥ 9.1 lb

Accolade 0 82 18 0
Athena 0 94 6 0
DaVinci 20 80 0 0
El Gordo2 0 4 10 86
Electra 10 84 6 0
Infinite Gold 9 88 2 0
Kapaz 7 83 10 0
Kazta 11 89 0 0
Lilly 0 60 21 19
Master’s Choice 11 89 0 0
Napoli 9 91 0 0
Oui 20 80 0 0
F39 18 81 1 0
HD150 0 68 22 10
HD252 0 51 37 12
HMX 4606 9 91 0 0
OC164 0 16 25 59
SVML2502 31 69 0 0
SVML2690 65 35 0 0
SVML8346 16 79 5 0
USAM 14836 8 90 1 1
USAM 14837 9 85 6 0
USAM 16141 0 80 18 3
USAM 16155 0 41 38 21
Average 11 71 9 9

1 Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest
whole number.
2 This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large
for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market
opportunities.


Table 17. Orange flesh melon cultigen study; percentage of fruit weight harvested among varying harvest intervals. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen

Pecentage harvested among harvest periods

Early Harvests1

Mid Harvests2

Late Harvests3

Accolade 48 39 13
Athena 65 28 7
DaVinci 4 74 21
El Gordo 2 56 42
Electra 34 51 15
Infinite Gold 6 77 18
Kapaz 1 84 14
Kazta 1 65 33
Lilly 20 78 2
Master’s Choice 76 9 14
Napoli 58 29 13
Oui 55 32 13
F39 21 51 28
HD150 2 62 36
HD252 0 77 23
HMX 4606 60 24 15
OC164 4 93 3
SVML2502 58 32 10
SVML2690 20 60 19
SVML8346 34 61 5
USAM 14836 48 35 17
USAM 14837 16 79 4
USAM 16141 6 91 3
USAM 16155 26 54 20
Average 28 56 16

1 Early harvests (1-4) : 9 July – 16 July (77 – 84 days after planting). 
2 Mid harvests (5-8) : 18 July – 25 July (86 – 93 days after planting). 
3 Late harvests (9-12) : 27 July – 3 August (95 – 102 days after planting). 
Study was planted 21 May, 2018. 


Table 18. Orange flesh melon cultigen study; percentage of fruit number harvested among varying harvest intervals. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultigen

Pecentage harvested among harvest periods

Early Harvests1

Mid Harvests2

Late Harvests3

Accolade 50 38 12
Athena 68 25 6
DaVinci 5 72 24
El Gordo 2 59 39
Electra 38 48 15
Infinite Gold 6 74 20
Kapaz 1 80 19
Kazta 2 67 32
Lilly 19 77 3
Master’s Choice 74 11 14
Napoli 58 28 14
Oui 57 31 12
F39 22 48 30
HD150 2 56 42
HD252 0 71 29
HMX 4606 61 22 17
OC164 5 91 5
SVML2502 59 30 11
SVML2690 23 58 19
SVML8346 32 60 8
USAM 14836 49 33 18
USAM 14837 16 79 5
USAM 16141 6 89 5
USAM 16155 25 50 25
Average 28 54 18

1 Early harvests (1-4) : 9 July – 16 July (77 – 84 days after planting).
2 Mid harvests (5-8) : 18 July – 25 July (86 – 93 days after planting).
3 Late harvests (9-12) : 27 July – 3 August (95 – 102 days after planting).
Study was planted 21 May, 2018.


Table 19. Orange flesh melon hybrid cultigen study. Interior fruit quality¹. Clayton, NC, 2018.

 Cultigen

 SS

 LD

Flesh Firmness

Melon Type

Accolade 12.1 1.1 4.4 E
Athena 11.3 1.1 3.6 E
DaVinci 13.1 1.2 4.5 T
El Gordo 10.1 1.2 3.6 T
Electra 10.2 1.0 4.4 LSL
Infinite Gold 11.5 1.0 5.2 LSL
Kapaz 12.7 1.0 5.9 LSL
Kazta 13.2 1.0 6.7 LSL
Lilly 11.7 1.4 2.6 Crenshaw
Master’s Choice 9.3 1.0 2.8 E
Napoli 12.1 1.2 4.3 T
Oui 12.9 1.0 3.5 T
F39 10.6 1.0 2.5 Western
HD150 12.7 1.2 3.5 HD
HD252 12.1 0.9 4.7 HD
HMX 4606 12.5 1.1 5.6 T
OC164 11.7 1.1 4.6 HD
SVML2502 11.8 1.1 4.5 LSL
SVML2690 13.6 0.9 6.2 T
SVML8346 11.3 1.0 4.4 LSL
USAM 14836 12.8 1.0 5.4 LSL
USAM 14837 12.0 1.1 4.7 LSL
USAM 16141 12.4 1.1 4.6 LSL
USAM 16155 9.7 1.2 3.0 E
Average 11.8 1.1 4.4
LSD (0.05) 1.4 0.1 0.9

1 Most measurements were obtained from fruits in harvests 2-6.
2 SS = Indicates sweetness, average of 5 melons per replication (20 total).
3 LD = Length and diameter ratio, average of 5 melons per replication.
4 Flesh Firmness is represented in pounds.
5 Type: E= Eastern Shipper, ESL = Extended Shelf Life, LSL = Long Shelf Life, T = Tuscan.