Evaluation of Qualitative and Qualitative Performance in progeny of crossing between cantaloupe and muskmelon

In this experiment, an advanced population obtained by crossing and periodic self-selection in the two populations of cantaloupe (Samsouri and Yellow Beetle Melon), with three cantaloupe (Samsouri, Zamche and Shahabadi) and Muskmelon Yellow Beetle cultivars, in three province of Tehran, Isfahan and Golestan for quantitative and qualitative evaluation were compared. The area was moldboard-plowed and disked before planting. The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replications. Each plot was planted two lines at intervals of 3 m and a length of 15 meters and planting depth was 2-3 cm. Irrigation was conducted based depletion of 50 percent of moisture in rooting depth. Cantaloupe and muskmelon seeds populations used in the experiment were prepared of Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, Karaj, Iran. Number of fruits per plant, single fruit weight, fruit skin thickness were measured by randomly selecting 10 fruits from each plot. The fresh yield was determined by harvesting surface equivalent to five square meters of each plot. Fruit sugar content was also measured randomly on 10 fruits from each plot by a refractometer. The firmness and shelf life of the fruits were evaluated based on the degree of spoilage of 20 fruits in two 6-day and 9-day periods under normal conditions. Percentage of rotten fruit was recorded in each period. The data were subjected to combined analysis of variance by SAS and means Fisher’s Protected LSD (5%) was used for mean separation.The effect of year on experimental traits was not statistically significant, but the effect of area on yield traits, number of fruits and percentage of fruit brix was significant at 1% level. The effect of genotype on all experimental traits was also significant at 1% level (except for fruit brix at 5%). Yield was significantly higher in Varamin and Isfahan than in Gorgan. The amount of this increase in Varamin and Isfahan compared to Gorgan was 41.6% and 34.2%, respectively. One of the main reasons for this increase was the higher number of fruits per plant. Differences in yield of cantaloupe genotypes in different regions may sometimes range from 10 to 76 t ha-1. Yield and number of fruits per plant of hybrid population were 16.20 t ha-1 and 2.34 number, respectively, which was not significantly different from Semsuri cantaloupe, but was significantly higher than other experimental populations. The fruit weight of hybrid populations (1.09 kg) was similar to Semsuri cantaloupe but was less than that of Muskmelon yellow beetle (1.83 kg) and Jaju populations (1.95 kg). In the United States, Brix 9 is considered good and Brix 11 is very good for cantaloupes but Brix is less than 10 for less attractive customers. The diameter of the ovarian cavity in the hybrid population was 6.76 cm, which was 32, 14.7 and 36% smaller than the populations of Shahabadi, Muskmelon yellow beetle and Jaju, respectively. In terms of fruit diameter, hybrid populations with 30.85 mm fruit diameter had a higher diameter than Semsuri population (28.78 mm) and a smaller diameter than Shahabadi population (37.94 mm). Percentage of fruit waste produced after 6 and 9 days was 3.3% and 10.5%, respectively, which was significantly lower than Semsuri and Shahabadi and Jaju melons but similar to beetle muskmelons. The hybrid population was similar with Semsuri population in number to fruit per plant, but in terms of percentage of Brix (fruit sugar) is closer to beetle Muskmelon, and most important after fruit harvesting shelf-life was similar to beetle Muskmelon and much higher than to semsuri.