ARS | Publication request: Melon landraces of India: contributions and importance

Submitted to: Plant Breeding Reviews
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: June 10, 2010
Publication Date: January 10, 2012
Citation: Dhillon, N., Monforte, A., Pitrat, M., Pandey, S., Singh Kumar, P., Reitsma, K.R., Garcia-Mas, J., Sharma, A., Mccreight, J.D. 2012. Melon landraces of India: contributions and importance. In: Janick, J., editor. Plant Breeding Reviews. John Wiley & Sons. p. 85-150.

Interpretive Summary: Melons comprise an economically important group of vegetable and fruit crops worldwide. In the U.S.A they are primarily the familiar dessert fruits cantaloupe or muskmelon, and honeydew, but the mixed melons are also somewhat known: Casaba, Juane Canary, and Crenshaw. Like many crops they are affected by numerous and yield or quality-limiting diseases and insect pests. Melon germplasm from India, an important center of genetic diversity for melon, has provided numerous genes useful for development of varieties resistant to fungal diseases such as downy mildew and powdery mildew, viral diseases such as watermelon mosaic virus, and insects such as the melon aphid, an important vector of several viral diseases. This review describes the many Indian melon accessions proven useful for various disease and insect resistance traits. Their contributions to improvement of melon flavor, vitamin and mineral components, and molecular biology and breeding of melon are also reviewed.

Technical Abstract: None.