Evaluation of wild melon (Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis) genotypes for growth, yield and quality traits

Abstract

Wild melon (Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis) belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae with chromosome number 2n=24. It is one of the traditional vegetable crop that can be exploited in marginal lands of North Karnataka with minimum practice of crop production. Although it is under exploited cucurbit, it has attained high value and occupied a prime place in rural cuisine because of its pleasant flavour with attractive colours. It is also called as kachari in Hindi, shinde in Marathi, chibdin in Konkani, gumi in Assamese and mekkekayi in Kannada. Wild melon is a native to Africa and presently listed as endangered species. It is an ideal summer crop mainly grown for fresh vegetable as well as for pickling purpose. Fruits are varying in size, small to big fruits along with smooth tender skin, white flesh usually with little sweetness and odour. In view of current trend of expanding the cultivation of wild melon crop for their delicious fruits, identification of promising genotypes having high yield, earliness, better quality and resistance to pest and diseases would help the farmers in improving their economic status to the some extent. In Karnataka, the crop is cultivated under limited area using mostly local varieties which are low in productivity. Towards this end, as a first step, there is a need for collection of local genotypes and evaluate them for their adoptability to particular locations especially to non-traditional area, northern dry zone of Karnataka.