ISHS Acta Horticulturae 769: XXVII International Horticultural Congress - IHC2006: International Symposium on Asian Plants with Unique Horticultural Potential
EVALUATION AND UTILIZATION OF THE XINJIANG MELON GERMPLASM |
| Authors: | Ming-zhu Wu, Hong-ping Yi, Jiong-xin Feng, Deng-ming Wang, Ya-sheng Erken, Yong-bing Zhang, Wen-qiang Zhai, Hai-bo Wu, Jing-song Li |
| Keywords: | evaluation, germplasm, Hami melon, melon, utilization |
| Abstract:
Cucumis melo ssp. melo, commonly known as Hami melon, has abundant resources and a long history of cultivation. To date, 101 land cultivars can be classified into 3 major groups - the extremely quickly maturing guaden group (C. melo var. chandalak), summer melon group (C. melo var. ameri) and winter melon group (C. melo var. zard) - and five cultivar sub-groups. Although there are many melon clones in Xinjiang, a few melon races are disease-resistant. With new cultivation systems and introduced pest problems, many heirloom local varieties are not suitable for production. During the past 40 years, selective breeding work has been done and the new and improved cultivars can be grouped as: 1) the improved heirloom cultivars of the 1950-1960s such as ‘Red Crispy’, ‘Patihon’, ‘Baishan’, ‘White Rind Crispy’, and ‘Kalakie’; 2) the local cultivars cross pollinated in 1965-1975 that produced ‘Netted’ and ‘Hanxiao’ (‘Red No. 23’); 3) the cross hybridization among domestic and foreign cultivars in 1975-1985 that yielded ‘Queen’, ‘Furong’ and ‘Yujin’ melons with better disease-resistance; 4) the hybrid F1 cultivars in 1980-1990 that included ‘Xiyu No. 3’, ‘Yellow Zuixian’, ‘8601’, ‘8501’, ‘86-1’, ‘Xuelihong’, ‘Xianguo’, and ‘9818’ for their increased adaptability; 5) the newly released cultivars generated using modern techniques and conventional breeding after 1995, which are the ‘Golden Dragon’ and ‘New Hongxincui’ melons, which are being successfully cultivated in China and USA. Future breeding should focus on disease-resistant cultivars utilizing molecular techniques and better production management practices. | |
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