Dwarf Cantaloupe Breeding

Cucurbit Genetics Cooperative Report 1:17 (article 16) 1978

L. H. Halsey
University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl 32601

Numerous short-internode lines of Cucumis melo have been developed. The plants posses partial resistance to powdery mildew, Erysiphe cichoracearum and high level of resistance to Alternaria blight, Alternaria cucumerina. The dwarf character was derived from an acquisition obtained from J. L. Bowers, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701. Crosses were made to commercially acceptable cultivars with desirable levels of quality. Crossings were interspersed with various numbers of generations of selfing to fix the dwarf habit. Levels of soluble solids fall generally in the range 10-14 percent, with few segregates outside that range. Fruit size ranges 0.7-1.4 kg with good netting and round to oval shape. Flesh is orange to deep orange, medium to thick wall with very small to small cavity.