Effects of sowing date and cultivar on greenhouse-grown melons in winter, III. Storability.
1990
Nerson H. | Burger Y.
Five "Galia"-type muskmelon cultivars and one American-type muskmelon cultivar were sown in a greenhouse at Mevo Hamma (northeastern Israel) on three dates approximately 10 days apart in October-November 1989. Approximately 250 ripe fruits of each cultivar were sampled, one-third on the day of harvest, one-third after one week's storage at 20+-degrees C, and one-third after 2 weeks at 20+-2 degrees C. Good storability was exhibited when there was minimal loss of fresh weight, maintenance of fruit firmness, a minimal percentage of rotted fruit, a minimal amount of flesh breakdown, and little decrease in soluble solids content. No significant difference in storability occurred among sowing dates, but large differences were observed among cultivars. "Arava" and, to a somewhat lesser extent, "Galit" and "Qalya" had the best storability of the six cultivars. "Gala", which excelled in fruit quality at harvest, did not store well - suffering 50% more weight loss than the other cultivars - and it tended to soften, and its rind wrinkled and browned faster than in the other cultivars. "Galia" and "Petra" had a different problem: flesh breakdown. At harvest, approximately 40% of their fruits exhibited flesh breakdown, which increased during storage to 50% in "Galia" and 80% in "Petra". This problem is not associated with any external sign, and is thus insidious and poses a threat to successful long-distance export.
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