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Horticulture Series # 220

Principle Investigators: Jonathan R. Schultheis, Professor and Vegetable Extension Specialist, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7609 and Keith D. Starke, Research Associate, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7609. Disclaimer This publication presents data from the cultivar evaluation trials conducted during 2017. 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. View a pdf copy of the 2017 melon booklet here.

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Kathy Herring (Superintendent) and Brandon Poole (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 cultivar evaluation trials. We want to also acknowledge the following summer research assistants for their help with the trials: Steven Bajorek, Elizabeth Indemaur, Shannon Dexter, Katherine Phillips, and graduate students, Fernando Montero and Marlee Trandel. The cooperation and support of the following seed companies is also greatly appreciated: DP Seeds, LLC; HM Clause; Hollar Seeds; Nunhems USA, Inc.; Origene Seeds; Rijk Zwaan USA Inc.; Sakata Seed USA; Syngenta Seeds, Inc.; and VoloAgri.

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. We also want to acknowledge, support for this study was provided by the US 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

All melon trials were 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, (2017 North Carolina Agricultural Chemicals Manual.

Introduction

The acreage for orange flesh melon production in North Carolina has not been published in recent years, however, it is estimated that 3,000 – 4,000 acres are under production in the state. Furthermore, the most recent report of US orange flesh melon production was in 2013 when US growers reported an increase of 8,300 acres for orange flesh melon production bringing the total orange flesh melon acreage to 74,730. Although, the total value of the 2013 orange flesh melon crop was reported at $319 million, total crop value actually decreased by $6 million from the previous year when the crop was valued at $325 million. Further reporting showed domestic orange flesh melon prices have steadily declined from their peak of .25/lb in 1980 to a season-average of .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 type orange flesh melon, other orange flesh melons 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 Extended or Long Shelf Life 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 ship ability, 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 to move into larger scale production of these melons. More recently, the release of new cultivars 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 varieties have taken as much as 30% of the market from ‘Athena’, an Eastern type melon that has dominated the market in the Southeastern production region for more than twenty years. 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 2017 several new cultigens were evaluated in our melon field trial and we had a total of 24 advanced lines or cultivar entries (cultigens) from 9 seed companies. Although Pixie and Tasty Bites are specialty mini-melons they were included in this trial due to their interior orange flesh characteristics. All entries were evaluated for yield, 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 trial. Seed were sown into 72 cell Poly trays to grow transplants (Hummert Int.; Earth City, MO) on 13 April 2017. The planting medium used was a Fine Germinating Mix, a commercial soilless mix (SunGro, Agawam, MA). In November 2017 the field trial area (0.28 acre) was fumigated with Telone 17 and a cover crop was established. On 23 March the field trial 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 28 March. Herbicide products, Prefar (6 qt/ac), Curbit (4.5 pt/ac) and Honcho Plus (1.5 pt/ac) were applied to row middles for pre-emergent weed control on 21 April. 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 2 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 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 7-0-7 liquid fertilizer, was initiated 15 days after planting applied weekly, thereafter. The first application of liquid fertilizer (2.5 gal) was applied through the drip tube on 17 May and the last application (3.5 gal) was applied 9 August. Fertilizer was applied either preplant or through fertigation in this trial. Total amount of fertilizer applied through fertigation for the season was 41 lbs/ac of N and 41 lbs/ac of K2O. The total amount of fertilizer applied for the entire growing season was 89 lbs/ac of N, 24 lbs/ac of P2O5 and 137 lbs/ac of K2O. Insecticides were applied as needed throughout the growing season beginning 31 May and followed by subsequent applications on 7, 21 and 28 June; 5 and 12 July 2017. The following insecticide products were alternated throughout the season to avoid potential resistance development in insect species; FanFare and PermUp. Similarly, the following fungicide products were applied; Bravo, Endosulfan, Pencozeb, Previcure Flex, Quadris, Quintec and Ranman; and applied on the following dates; 9, 26 and 31 May; 7, 21 and 28 June; 5, 12 and 25 July 2017. There were a total of 13 harvests for the orange flesh melon evaluation trial. The first harvest was 30 June 2017 and the thirteenth harvest was 7 August 2017. Harvests were made three times per week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Each fruit was harvested when ripe and weighed. Evaluations of each melon entry included; yield, fruit size, production earliness, soluble solids (using a digital refractometer), fruit shape and size, exterior and interior descriptions (rind, length/ width ratio, and flesh color), 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 the center of the fruit, lengthwise, from the fruit’s stem end to blossom end. Pressure measurements were then taken between the interior fruit cavity and the rind (near fruit bottom or ground spot and one from the top of the fruit) on each half of the cut fruit. The reported measures on flesh firmness are an average of the two sample areas from five fruit per plot (for flesh firmness 10 total fruit halves were measured per plot). Most of the 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 trial. There was average to above average rainfall throughout the month of June and July, as well as, optimal ambient temperatures that allowed for good plant growth and fruit set within all the cultigen plots.

Results

In the early harvests (1-4) entries that yielded over 100 cwt were Accolade, Astound, Athena, Cayucos Beach, HMX4606, ME4858 and Tasty Sherbert. The highest yielding entries based on fruit numbers that exceeded 3,000 fruit per acre for early harvests (1-4) were Astound, Athena, Cayucos Beach, HMX4606 and Tasty Sherbert. The 3 to 7 lb. size category had the highest percentage of fruit produced from the early yielding entries. This is the most desirable and marketable size category for orange flesh melons, however, the entries Pixie and Tasty Bites are orange flesh specialty melons that will consistently produce smaller or more “personal” sized fruit. Despite their smaller size, these two cultivars have orange flesh and were therefore evaluated in the orange flesh culigen trial evaluation conducted in 2017. The highest yielding entries for fruit weight in the mid-season harvests (5-8) were 300 cwt were 8H288, 8H405, 8H423, Durawest and NUN4346 (Table 5). 5 The entries that yielded the highest (>5,000 fruit number) in the mid-season (harvests 5-8) were 8H288, 8H403, 8H405, 8H423, 8H424, Durawest, Infinite Gold, MS4344, NUN7609, NUN26191, Pixie, Tasty Bites and USAMR 50785. Most fruit produced from these entries were between 3 to 7 lbs.; with the exception of Pixie and Tasty Bites which, had 61 and 58% of their fruit in the < 3 lb. size category, respectively. Fruit in the < 3 lb. category would ordinarily be culled, however, Pixie and Tasty Bites are smaller melons that are being marketed as ‘personal’ size and ‘single’ serving melons. Some of the latest yield in (harvests 9-13) melon entries > 150 cwt were 8H300, 8H312, Cayucos Beach, HMX4606, Infinite Gold, NUN26191, Tasty Bites, USAMR 50785and USAMR 50786. Average fruit size for these entries were 5.1, 5.7, 4.9, 3.8, 5.3, 4.0, 3.4, 4.6 and 4.0. The highest yielding entries across all harvests, in terms of tonnage (> 450 cwt) were 8H288, 8H300,8H312, 8H405, 8H423, Accolade, Astound, Cayucos Beach, Infinite Gold, NUN4346, Tasty Sherbert and USAMR 50785. The melon entries that produced the greatest number of fruit (> 9,000) across all harvests were 8H300, 8H403, 8H405, 8H423, 8H424, Accolade, Astound, Athena, Cayucos Beach, HMX4606, NUN26191, Pixie, Tasty Bites, Tasty Sherbert and USAMR 50785.

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Figure 1. Orange Flesh melon photographs pages 4 – 14. Replicated cultivars. Clayton, NC 2017. View images of each melon variety in the PDF booklet.

Trial entries and Seed Companies

Cultivar	Company
8H288	Origene
8H300	Origene
8H312	Origene
8H403	Origene
8H405	Origene
8H423	Origene
8H424	Origene
Accolade	Syngenta
Astound	Syngenta
Athena	Syngenta
Cayucos Beach	Rijk Zwaan
Durawest	Bayer CropScience
HMX4606	HM Clause
Infinite Gold	Sakata
ME4858	Syngenta
MS4344 (Sweet Sunrise)	Syngenta
NUN4246	Bayer CropScience
NUN7609	Bayer CropScience
NUN26191	Bayer CropScience
Pixie	Hollar Seeds
Tasty Bites	DP Seeds
Tasty Sherbert	DP Seeds
USAMR 50785	US Agriseeds
USAMR 50786	US Agriseeds

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Table 1. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields, Fruit weight, (x 100), per acre for early¹ season harvests 1 – 4. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category			Totals2	Avg Wt.3
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	–	13	–	13	6.0
8H300	–	7	–	7	6.7
8H312	–	7	–	7	6.0
8H403	11	45	–	56	4.1
8H405	–	7	–	7	6.6
8H423	–	14	–	14	4.2
8H424	–	–	–	–	–
Accolade	5	92	17	114	4.6
Astound	6	171	–	177	5.0
Athena	24	122	16	162	5.4
Cayucos Beach	5	177	24	206	5.2
Durawest	–	6	–	6	5.4
HMX4606	14	169	8	192	4.4
Infinite Gold	–	5	–	5	4.8
ME4858	18	74	25	118	5.0
MS4344	–	–	–	–	–
NUN4346	–	15	18	34	4.6
NUN7609	–	–	–	–	–
NUN26191	7	4	–	11	3.7
Pixie	29	16	–	45	3.4
Tasty Bites	2	–	–	2	–
Tasty Sherbert	8	156	8	171	5.0
USAMR 50785	–	–	–	–	–
USAMR 50786	–	–	–	–	–
Average	12	61	17	71	5.0
LSD (0.05)	25	58	38	53	1.8

¹ Early harvests (1-4) : 30 June – 7 July (60 – 67 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.

Table 2. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields, Fruit number per acre for early¹ season harvests 1-4. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category			Totals ²
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	–	218	–	218
8H300	–	109	–	109
8H312	–	109	–	109
8H403	436	1089	–	1525
8H405	–	109	–	109
8H423	–	327	–	327
8H424	–	–	–	–
Accolade	218	2069	218	2505
Astound	218	3485	–	3703
Athena	980	2178	218	3376
Cayucos Beach	218	3485	327	4030
Durawest	–	109	–	109
HMX4606	653	3812	109	4574
Infinite Gold	–	109	–	109
ME4858	871	1525	327	2723
MS4344	–	–	–	–
NUN4346	–	327	218	545
NUN7609	–	–	–	–
NUN26191	327	109	–	436
Pixie	1307	436	–	1743
Tasty Bites	109	–	–	109
Tasty Sherbert	109	3049	109	3267
USAMR 50785	–	–	–	–
USAMR 50786	–	–	–	–
Average	495	1259	218	1559
LSD (0.05)	1067	1155	489	1258

¹ Early harvests (1-4) : 30 June – 7 July (60 – 67 days after planting).
² Totals include all fruit size categories.
** Each number for fruit size category and total is rounded to the nearest whole number**.

Table 3. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields; Percent¹ fruit weight per indicated size category – Early Season harvests 1-4. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	–	100	–
8H300	–	100	–
8H312	–	100	–
8H403	19	81	–
8H405	–	100	–
8H423	–	100	–
8H424	–	–	–
Accolade	5	80	15
Astound	3	97	–
Athena	15	75	10
Cayucos Beach	2	86	12
Durawest	–	100	–
HMX4606	7	88	4
Infinite Gold	–	100	–
ME4858	15	63	22
MS4344	–	–	–
NUN4346	–	45	55
NUN7609	–	–	–
NUN26191	63	37	–
Pixie	65	35	–
Tasty Bites	100	–	–
Tasty Sherbert	–	95	5
USAMR 50785	–	–	–
USAMR 50786	–	–	–
Average	29	82	18

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultivar were rounded to the nearest whole number.

Table 4. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields; Percent¹ fruit number per indicated size category – Early Season harvests 1-4. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	–	100	–
8H300	–	100	–
8H312	–	100	–
8H403	29	71	–
8H405	–	100	–
8H423	–	100	–
8H424	–	–	–
Accolade	9	83	9
Astound	6	94	–
Athena	29	65	6
Cayucos Beach	5	86	8
Durawest	–	100	–
HMX4606	14	83	2
Infinite Gold	–	100	–
ME4858	32	56	12
MS4344	–	–	–
NUN4346	–	60	40
NUN7609	–	–	–
NUN26191	75	25	–
Pixie	75	25	–
Tasty Bites	100	–	–
Tasty Sherbert	3	93	3
USAMR 50785	–	–	–
USAMR 50786	–	–	–
Average	34	80	11

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultivar were rounded to the nearest whole number.

Table 5. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields, Fruit weight, (x 100), per acre for mid¹ season harvests 5 – 8. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category			Totals2	Avg Wt.3
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	2	252	81	335	5.3
8H300	–	164	101	265	6.0
8H312	–	52	218	270	6.0
8H403	4	166	–	201	4.0
8H405	5	282	68	355	5.4
8H423	3	251	65	320	5.1
8H424	10	249	–	259	4.1
Accolade	6	190	41	236	4.7
Astound	2	195	59	256	5.5
Athena	4	114	25	144	4.7
Cayucos Beach	5	84	24	112	4.9
Durawest	3	307	59	369	5.4
HMX4606	9	78	–	87	4.2
Infinite Gold	–	291	–	291	5.3
ME4858	–	149	25	175	5.3
MS4344	22	202	8	231	5.0
NUN4346	3	89	244	336	5.5
NUN7609	11	236	16	263	5.1
NUN26191	23	154	–	177	3.8
Pixie	151	95	–	245	3.3
Tasty Bites	156	112	–	268	3.3
Tasty Sherbert	14	159	–	173	5.0
USAMR 50785	9	266	–	275	4.9
USAMR 50786	17	164	–	181	4.1
Average	23	179	74	243	4.8
LSD (0.05)	38	75	75	86	0.8

¹ Mid harvests (5-8) : 10 July – 17 July (70 – 77 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.

Table 6. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields, Fruit number per acre for mid¹ season harvests 5 – 8. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category			Totals ²
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	109	4683	980	5772
8H300	–	2831	1307	4138
8H312	–	871	2723	3594
8H403	1416	4138	–	5554
8H405	218	5227	871	6316
8H423	109	4901	871	5881
8H424	436	6098	–	6534
Accolade	327	4029	545	4901
Astound	109	3594	762	4465
Athena	218	2396	327	2940
Cayucos Beach	218	1634	327	2178
Durawest	109	5663	762	6534
HMX4606	327	1851	–	2178
Infinite Gold	–	5445	–	5445
ME4858	–	2831	327	3158
MS4344	871	4029	109	5009
NUN4346	109	1634	2940	4683
NUN7609	436	4683	218	5336
NUN26191	980	4029	–	5009
Pixie	6534	2831	–	9365
Tasty Bites	6643	3376	–	10019
Tasty Sherbert	545	3267	–	3812
USAMR 50785	327	5445	–	5772
USAMR 50786	653	4029	–	4683
Average	1035	3730	934	5137
LSD (0.05)	1574	1565	964	1915

¹ Mid harvests (5-8) : 10 July – 17 July (70 – 77 days after planting).
² Totals include all fruit size categories.
** Each number for fruit size category and total is rounded to the nearest whole number.**

Table 7. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields; Percent¹ fruit weight per indicated size category – Mid Season harvests 5-8. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	1	75	24
8H300	–	62	38
8H312	–	19	81
8H403	17	83	–
8H405	1	79	19
8H423	1	79	20
8H424	4	96	–
Accolade	2	80	17
Astound	1	76	23
Athena	3	80	18
Cayucos Beach	4	75	21
Durawest	1	83	16
HMX4606	11	89	–
Infinite Gold	–	100	–
ME4858	–	85	15
MS4344	9	87	3
NUN4346	1	27	72
NUN7609	4	90	6
NUN26191	13	87	–
Pixie	61	39	–
Tasty Bites	58	42	–
Tasty Sherbert	8	92	–
USAMR 50785	3	97	–
USAMR 50786	9	91	–
Average	11	76	27

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category and for each cultivar were rounded to the nearest whole number.

Table 8. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields; Percent¹ fruit number per indicated size category – Mid Season harvest 5-8. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	2	81	17
8H300	–	68	32
8H312	–	24	76
8H403	25	75	–
8H405	3	83	14
8H423	2	83	15
8H424	7	93	–
Accolade	7	82	11
Astound	2	80	17
Athena	7	81	11
Cayucos Beach	10	75	15
Durawest	2	87	12
HMX4606	15	85	–
Infinite Gold	–	100	–
ME4858	–	90	10
MS4344	17	80	2
NUN4346	2	35	63
NUN7609	8	88	4
NUN26191	20	80	–
Pixie	70	30	–
Tasty Bites	66	34	–
Tasty Sherbert	14	86	–
USAMR 50785	6	94	–
USAMR 50786	14	86	–
Average	15	75	21

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultivar were rounded to the nearest whole number.

Table 9. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields, Fruit weight, (x 100), per acre for late¹ season harvests 9 – 13. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category			Totals2	Avg Wt.3
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
Cultivar 8H288	–	52	63	114	5.3
8H300	3	208	57	268	5.1
8H312	–	90	99	189	5.7
8H403	18	119	–	137	4.4
8H405	2	82	17	101	4.9
8H423	11	93	16	120	4.5
8H424	30	102	–	133	4.1
Accolade	6	107	16	129	5.2
Astound	8	111	10	129	5.2
Athena	5	111	16	132	5.1
Cayucos Beach	–	144	16	160	4.9
Durawest	–	41	8	49	5.5
HMX4606	28	134	–	162	3.8
Infinite Gold	6	146	8	159	5.3
ME4858	4	81	49	135	5.3
MS4344	3	81	9	93	5.0
NUN4346	2	67	63	132	5.5
NUN7609	3	60	–	63	4.3
NUN26191	7	208	–	216	4.0
Pixie	68	73	–	141	3.5
Tasty Bites	76	91	–	168	3.4
Tasty Sherbert	6	113	–	119	5.2
USAMR 50785	5	196	9	209	4.6
USAMR 50786	9	147	–	156	4.0
Average	15	111	30	142	4.7
LSD (0.05)	18	75	52	86	1.1

¹ Late harvests (9-13) : 21 July – 7 August ( 81 – 96 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.

Table 10. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields, Fruit number per acre for late¹season harvests 9 – 13. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category			Totals ²
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	–	980	762	1742
8H300	109	4138	762	5009
8H312	–	1634	1198	2831
8H403	762	2723	–	3485
8H405	109	1742	218	2069
8H423	545	2069	218	2831
8H424	1307	2505	–	3812
Accolade	218	2069	218	2505
Astound	327	2178	109	2614
Athena	218	2287	218	2723
Cayucos Beach	–	3049	218	3267
Durawest	–	762	109	871
HMX4606	1089	3485	–	4574
Infinite Gold	218	2723	109	3049
ME4858	218	1525	653	2396
MS4344	218	1634	109	1960
NUN4346	109	1198	762	2069
NUN7609	109	1307	–	1416
NUN26191	436	5118	–	5554
Pixie	2831	2069	–	4901
Tasty Bites	3158	2614	–	5772
Tasty Sherbert	327	2178	–	2505
USAMR 50785	218	4247	109	4574
USAMR 50786	327	3703	–	4029
Average	643	2414	385	3190
LSD (0.05)	778	1739	664	1874

¹ Late harvests (9-13) : 21 July – 7 August ( 81 – 96 days after planting).
² Cumulative total includes all fruit size categories.
* 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 trial yields; Percent¹ fruit weight per indicated size category – Late Season harvests 9-13. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	–	45	55
8H300	1	77	21
8H312	–	48	52
8H403	13	87	–
8H405	2	81	16
8H423	9	77	14
8H424	23	77	–
Accolade	5	83	12
Astound	6	86	8
Athena	3	84	12
Cayucos Beach	–	90	10
Durawest	–	84	16
HMX4606	17	83	–
Infinite Gold	4	91	5
ME4858	3	60	37
MS4344	3	87	10
NUN4346	1	51	48
NUN7609	4	96	–
NUN26191	3	97	–
Pixie	48	52	–
Tasty Bites	46	54	–
Tasty Sherbert	5	95	–
USAMR 50785	2	94	4
USAMR 50786	6	94	–
Average	10	78	21

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultivar were rounded to the nearest whole number.

Table 12. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields; Percent¹ fruit number per indicated size category; Late Season harvests 9-13. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	–	56	44
8H300	2	83	15
8H312	–	58	42
8H403	22	78	–
8H405	5	84	11
8H423	19	73	8
8H424	34	66	–
Accolade	9	83	9
Astound	13	83	4
Athena	8	84	8
Cayucos Beach	–	93	7
Durawest	–	88	13
HMX4606	24	76	–
Infinite Gold	7	89	4
ME4858	9	64	27
MS4344	11	83	6
NUN4346	5	58	37
NUN7609	8	92	–
NUN26191	8	92	–
Pixie	58	42	–
Tasty Bites	55	45	–
Tasty Sherbert	13	87	–
USAMR 50785	5	93	2
USAMR 50786	8	92	–
Average	16	77	16

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultivar were rounded to the  nearest whole number.

Table 13. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields¹, Fruit weight, (x 100), per acre across all 13 harvests. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category			Totals2	Avg Wt.3
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	2	316	144	463	5.4
8H300	3	380	158	541	5.4
8H312	–	149	317	457	5.8
8H403	63	330	–	394	4.1
8H405	7	372	85	464	5.2
8H423	14	358	82	453	4.9
8H424	40	352	–	392	4.1
Accolade	17	388	74	479	4.7
Astound	16	477	69	562	5.2
Athena	33	347	57	437	5.1
Cayucos Beach	10	405	64	478	5.0
Durawest	3	354	67	424	5.4
HMX4606	51	381	8	441	4.2
Infinite Gold	6	442	8	455	5.3
ME4858	22	304	100	427	5.2
MS4344	24	283	17	324	4.9
NUN4346	5	172	325	502	5.5
NUN7609	14	296	16	326	5.0
NUN26191	37	367	–	404	3.9
Pixie	247	183	–	431	3.4
Tasty Bites	235	203	–	438	3.3
Tasty Sherbert	21	428	8	457	5.0
USAMR 50785	13	463	9	485	4.8
USAMR 50786	25	312	–	337	4.0
Average	40	336	89	440	4.8
LSD (0.05)	36	103	75	78	0.5

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.
** Each number for fruit size category and total is rounded to the nearest whole number.**

Table 14. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields¹, Fruit number per acre across all 13 harvests. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category			Totals ²
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	109	5881	1742	7732
8H300	109	7079	2069	9257
8H312	–	2614	3920	6534
8H403	2614	7950	–	10563
8H405	327	7079	1089	8494
8H423	653	7296	1089	9039
8H424	1742	8603	–	10346
Accolade	762	8168	980	9910
Astound	653	9257	871	10781
Athena	1416	6861	762	9039
Cayucos Beach	436	8168	871	9474
Durawest	109	6534	871	7514
HMX4606	2069	9148	109	11326
Infinite Gold	218	8276	109	8603
ME4858	1089	5881	1307	8276
MS4344	1089	5663	218	6970
NUN4346	218	3158	3920	7296
NUN7609	545	5990	218	6752
NUN26191	1742	9257	–	10999
Pixie	10672	5336	–	16008
Tasty Bites	9910	5990	–	15899
Tasty Sherbert	980	8494	109	9583
USAMR 50785	545	9692	109	10346
USAMR 50786	980	7732	–	8712
Average	1695	7088	1131	9561
LSD (0.05)	1524	2195	971	1590

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 trial yields; Percent¹ fruit weight per indicated size category – Cumulative harvests 1-13. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	1	68	31
8H300	1	70	29
8H312	–	32	68
8H403	16	84	–
8H405	2	80	18
8H423	3	79	18
8H424	10	90	–
Accolade	4	81	15
Astound	3	85	12
Athena	8	79	13
Cayucos Beach	2	85	13
Durawest	1	84	16
HMX4606	12	87	2
Infinite Gold	1	97	2
ME4858	5	71	23
MS4344	7	87	5
NUN4346	1	34	65
NUN7609	4	91	5
NUN26191	9	91	–
Pixie	57	43	–
Tasty Bites	54	46	–
Tasty Sherbert	5	94	2
USAMR 50785	3	95	2
USAMR 50786	7	93	–
Average	9	77	19

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultivar were rounded to the nearest whole number.

Table 16. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial yields; Percent¹ fruit number per indicated size category – Cumulative harvests 1-13. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	≥7.1 lb
8H288	1	76	23
8H300	1	76	22
8H312	–	40	60
8H403	25	75	–
8H405	4	83	13
8H423	7	81	12
8H424	17	83	–
Accolade	8	82	10
Astound	6	86	8
Athena	16	76	8
Cayucos Beach	5	86	9
Durawest	1	87	12
HMX4606	18	81	1
Infinite Gold	3	96	1
ME4858	13	71	16
MS4344	16	81	3
NUN4346	3	43	54
NUN7609	8	89	3
NUN26191	16	84	–
Pixie	67	33	–
Tasty Bites	62	38	–
Tasty Sherbert	10	89	1
USAMR 50785	5	94	1
USAMR 50786	11	89	–
Average	14	76	14

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultivar were rounded to the nearest whole number.

Table 17. Orange flesh melon cultigen trial; percentage of fruit weight harvested among varying harvest intervals. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	Early Harvests¹	Mid Harvests²	Late Harvests³
8H288	3	72	25
8H300	1	49	50
8H312	1	58	41
8H403	14	51	35
8H405	2	77	22
8H423	3	71	26
8H424	–	66	34
Accolade	24	49	27
Astound	31	46	23
Athena	37	33	30
Cayucos Beach	43	24	33
Durawest	1	87	12
HMX4606	44	20	37
Infinite Gold	1	64	35
ME4858	28	41	32
MS4344	–	71	29
NUN4346	7	67	26
NUN7609	–	81	19
NUN26191	3	44	53
Pixie	10	57	33
Tasty Bites	1	61	38
Tasty Sherbert	36	38	26
USAMR 50785	–	57	43
USAMR 50786	–	54	46
Average	15	56	32

¹ Early harvests (1-4) : 30 June – 7 July (60 – 67 days after planting).
² Mid harvests (5-8) : 10 July – 17 July (70 – 77 days after planting).
³ Late harvests (9-13) : 21 July – 7 August (81 – 96 days after planting).

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

Cultivar	Early Harvests1	Mid Harvests2	Late Harvests3
8H288	3	75	23
8H300	1	45	54
8H312	2	55	43
8H403	14	53	33
8H405	1	74	24
8H423	4	65	31
8H424	–	63	37
Accolade	25	49	25
Astound	34	41	24
Athena	37	33	30
Cayucos Beach	43	23	34
Durawest	1	87	12
HMX4606	40	19	40
Infinite Gold	1	63	35
ME4858	33	38	29
MS4344	–	72	28
NUN4346	7	64	28
NUN7609	–	79	21
NUN26191	4	46	50
Pixie	11	59	31
Tasty Bites	1	63	36
Tasty Sherbert	34	40	26
USAMR 50785	–	56	44
USAMR 50786	–	54	46
Average	16	55	33

¹ Early harvests (1-4) : 15 – 25 July (52 – 62 days after planting).
² Mid harvests (5-8) : 27 July – 5 August (64 – 73 days after planting).
³ Late harvests (9-13) : 8 – 22 August (76 – 93 days after planting).

Table 19.1 Orange flesh melon hybrid cultivar trial. Descriptive characteristics and interior fruit quality. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	SS2	Sutures3	Netting Density4	Netting Type5	Stem Scar6	Stem Splitting7
8H288	8.9	1.0	2.5	2.5	1.5	2.0
8H300	11.6	3.5	3.5	3.0	–	–
8H312	10.8	3.5	3.5	3.0	–	–
8H403	11.5	1.1	2.5	2.0	–	–
8H405	9.8	1.0	2.5	3.0	1.5	2.0
8H423	12.2	3.0	2.5	3.0	–	–
8H424	13.5	1.3	3.0	2.0	–	–
Accolade	12.2	2.0	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.0
Astound	12.0	1.5	2.5	2.0	2.0	1.5
Athena	11.6	1.5	2.5	2.5	2.0	2.0
Cayucos Beach	12.0	1.3	3.0	2.5	2.5	1.5
Durawest	13.2	1.3	2.5	2.5	–	–
HMX4606	14.3	3.0	2.5	3.0	–	–
Infinite Gold	13.1	1.3	2.5	2.0	–	–
ME4858	12.2	1.5	3.0	2.5	1.2	1.5
MS4344 (Sweet Sunrise)	13.5	1.1	2.5	2.0	–	–
NUN4246	11.3	1.1	3.0	2.5	2.0	2.0
NUN7609	13.2	1.3	3.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
NUN26191	11.9	1.0	2.0	1.5	–	–
Pixie	13.4	1.0	2.0	1.0	2.0	1.0
Tasty Bites	13.8	1.1	2.5	3.0	2.5	1.0
Tasty Sherbert	11.9	3.5	3.5	2.5	–	–
USAMR 50785	13.3	1.1	3.0	2.0	–	–
USAMR 50786	12.3	1.0	2.5	1.7	–	–
Average	12.2	1.7	2.7	2.3	2.0	1.7
LSD (0.05)	1.2	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA

¹ Most measurements were obtained from fruits in harvests 2-6.
² SS = Indicates sw eetness, average of 5 melons per replication (20 total).
³ Sutures: 1 = none, 3=moderate, 5 = deep.
⁴ Netting Density: 1=none, 5=dense.
⁵ Netting Type: 1 = fine, 5 =thick ropy.
⁶ Stem Scar: 1 = small, 3=medium, 5 = large (unattractive).
⁷  Stem Splitting: 1= none, 5 = extensive (unmarketable).

Table 19.2 Orange flesh melon hybrid cultivar trial. Descriptive characteristics and interior fruit quality. Clayton, NC, 2017.

Cultivar	LD8	Flesh Color9	Flesh Firmness10	Cavity11	Type12	Foliage Cover13
8H288	1.2	3.4	2.5	2.0	E	6.6
8H300	1.1	4.0	4.4	1.5	T	8.0
8H312	1.2	3.9	4.4	1.5	T	8.1
8H403	1.2	4.4	4.3	1.0	LSL	7.3
8H405	1.2	3.5	2.2	1.0	E	7.0
8H423	1.1	3.9	4.6	1.0	T	7.8
8H424	1.0	5.0	4.1	1.0	LSL	7.5
Accolade	1.1	2.8	4.5	3.0	ESL	7.0
Astound	1.1	3.3	4.3	2.5	ESL	7.1
Athena	1.1	3.0	3.4	3.0	ESL	7.1
Cayucos Beach	1.1	3.3	3.8	1.5	ESL	7.5
Durawest	1.1	3.0	4.6	1.5	LSL	7.4
HMX4606	1.1	3.6	4.0	1.0	T	7.0
Infinite Gold	1.1	3.0	3.3	1.5	LSL	7.1
ME4858	1.1	3.3	4.0	2.5	ESL	6.8
MS4344 (Sweet Sunrise)	1.1	3.1	3.4	2.5	LSL	7.3
NUN4246	1.1	3.0	3.5	1.0	ESL	7.4
NUN7609	1.1	3.5	3.3	2.0	ESL	8.3
NUN26191	1.1	4.0	4.5	1.0	LSL	8.5
Pixie	1.0	2.8	3.2	1.0	E	8.0
Tasty Bites	1.0	3.1	3.4	2.5	E	8.8
Tasty Sherbert	1.0	3.1	3.4	3.5	T	6.8
USAMR 50785	1.1	3.0	3.7	1.5	LSL	7.9
USAMR 50786	1.1	3.3	5.3	1.5	LSL	7.3
Average	1.1	3.4	3.8	1.8	NA	7.5
LSD (0.05)	0.04	0.4	1.0	NA	NA	0.7

⁸ LD = Length and diameter ratio, average of 5 melons per replication.
⁹ Flesh color: 1 = pale orange, 5 = deep orange.
NA = data not available
¹⁰ Flesh Firmness is represented in pounds.
¹¹ Cavity: 1=small, 3=medium, 5=large
¹² Type: E= Eastern Shipper, ESL = Extended Shelflife, LSL = Long Shelflife, T = Tuscan.
¹³Foliage cover: 1 = no fruit covered. 5 = all fruit covered (lush).
NA = data not available

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