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Horticulture Series # 227

Principle Investigators: Jonathan R. Schultheis, Professor and Vegetable Extension Specialist and Keith D. Starke, Research Associate, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7609.
Acknowledgments: We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Cathy Herring (Superintendent) and Charles Barrow (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 cultigen evaluation trials. We want to also acknowledge the following summer research assistants for their help with the study: Shannon Dexter, Chandler Fulmer, Ben Indermaur, Elizabeth Indermaur, Tanner Seay and graduate student Fernando Montero.

The cooperation and support of the following seed companies and university is also greatly appreciated: DP Seeds, LLC; HM Clause; Enza Zaden; Sakata Seed USA; Seminis; Syngenta Seeds, Inc.; Texas A&M University and VoloAgri/ US Agriseeds.

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. Support for this study was also provided by the National Center of Excellence for Melon at the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center of Texas A&M University through the following grant project: USDA-NIFA-SCRI-2017-51181-26834. We also want to acknowledge support for this study was provided by the U.S. 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

This melon study was 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 (2018 North Carolina Agricultural Chemicals Manual). View the pdf copy of the 2018 Orange flesh Melon Cultigen Evaluations.

Introduction

The acreage for melon production in North Carolina has not been published, however, it is estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 acres are produced in the state. In 2017 a survey of US growers estimated orange flesh melon production was 58,000 acres (USDA, National Agriculture Statistics Service). Since 2013, the US orange flesh melon crop has seen significant decreases in acreage (2013, 74,000 acres valued at 319 million) to 2017 when US acreage was reported to be 58,000 with a total crop value of 267 million. Further reporting showed domestic orange flesh melon prices have steadily declined from their peak of 0.25/lb in 1980 to a season-average of 0.18/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 shipper type orange flesh melon, other orange flesh melons are 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 ESL or LSL 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 shipability, 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 in part to move into larger scale production of these melons. More recently, the release of new cultigens 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 cultivars comprise as much as 30% of the market, taking some market share from ‘Athena’. 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 challenges with ESL/LSL and Italian (Tuscan) type melons, North Carolina growers have had some success in producing and marketing these newer melon types. In 2018 several new cultigens were evaluated in our melon field study and we had a total of 24 advanced lines or cultivar entries (cultigens) from 7 seed companies and 1 University. All entries were evaluated for yields, 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 study. Seed were sown into 72 cell Poly trays to grow transplants (Hummert Int.; Earth City, MO) on 13 April 2018. The planting medium used was a Fine Germinating Mix, a commercial soilless mix (SunGro, Agawam, MA). In November 2017 the field study area (0.28 acre) was fumigated with Telone 17 and a cover crop was established. On 23 March 2018 the field study 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 23 March.
Herbicide products, Prefar (5 qt/ac), Sonolan (4 pt/ac) and Honcho Plus (2 pt/ac) were applied to row middles for pre-emergent weed control on 4 May. 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 21 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 study was a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. Plots that were 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 with 7-0-7 liquid fertilizer was initiated 9 days after planting and applied weekly, thereafter. The first application of liquid fertilizer (2.5 gal) was applied through the drip tube on 30 May and the last application (3.5 gal) was applied 1 August. Fertilizer was applied either preplant or through fertigation in this study. Total amount of fertilizer applied through fertigation for the season was 39 lbs/ac of N and 39 lbs/ac of K²O. The total amount of fertilizer applied for the entire growing season was 87 lbs/ac of N, 24 lbs/ac of P²O⁵ and 135 lbs/ac of K²O.

Insecticides were applied as needed throughout the growing season beginning 31 May and followed by subsequent applications on 6, 13, 20 and 27 June; 3, 18 and 25 July 2018. The following insecticide products were alternated throughout the season to avoid potential resistance development in insect species; Asana, Assail, Endosulfan, and FanFare. Similarly, the following fungicide products were applied; Presidio, Pristine, Proline, Procure, Quadris, Ranman, Switch and Zampro; and applied on the following dates; 31 May; 6, 13, 20 and 27 June; 3, 18 and 25 July;
and 7 August 2018.

There were 12 total harvests of the orange flesh melon cultigens. The first harvest was 9 July 2018 and the twelfth harvest was 3 August 2018. Harvests occurred three times per week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Evaluations of each melon entry included; yield, fruit size, production earliness, soluble solids (using a digital refractometer, Atago, Vernon Hills, IL), fruit shape and size 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 through the ground spot of the fruit, lengthwise, from the fruit’s stem end to blossom end. Flesh firmness (measured in pressure) measurements were taken between the interior fruit cavity and the rind (near fruit bottom or ground spot and one from the top of the fruit) on one-half of the cut fruit. The reported measures on flesh firmness are an average of the two sample areas from five fruit per plot (10 total fruit firmness measures were obtained per plot). The majority of 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 study. Rainfall for the season was above average rainfall throughout the season. Optimal ambient temperatures that allowed for good plant growth and fruit set within all the cultigen plots. This study was established in the field nearly 3 weeks later than in 2017; however, the crop grew off quickly with fruit harvests nearly coinciding to the previous year.
Six entries included in the study were submitted from Texas A&M. Those cultigens were Davinci, F39, HD150, HD252, Infinite Gold and OC164. Fruits from these cultigens were shipped to Texas and Arizona to be evaluated as part of a food safety and soil borne pathogen evaluation study. HD150 and HD252 are honeydew melons, OC164 is an orange casaba melon, while the other 3 entries are orange flesh melons.

Results

In the early harvests (1-4), entries that yielded over 200 cwt per acre were Athena, Master’s Choice, Napoli, and Oui (Table 1). The highest yielding entries based on fruit numbers that exceeded 4,000 fruit per acre for early harvests
(1-4) were Athena, HMX4606, Master’s Choice, Napoli, Oui, SVML2502, USAM 14836 (Table 2). The 3 to 7 lb. size category had the highest percentage of fruit produced from the early yielding entries with the exception of SVML2690 that produced fruits that were ≤ 3 pounds. Fruits ranging from 3 to 7 pounds are the most desirable and marketable size category for orange flesh melons (Tables 3 & 4) in eastern US markets.

The highest yielding entries for fruit weight, in the mid-season harvests (5-8), that yielded over 400 cwt per acre were OC164 and USAM 16141 (Table 5). The entries that yielded the highest (> 6,000 fruit number) in the mid- season (harvests 5-8) were Davinci, Infinite Gold, SVML2690 and USAM 14837 (Table 6). Most fruits produced from these entries were between 3 to 7 lbs., with the exception of SVML2690 which produced fruits ≤ 3 lbs. (Tables 7 & 8). Fruits that weigh ≤ 3 lb. category would ordinarily be culled in eastern US markets other markets, however, other markets in the US sell smaller sized fruits.

Some of the latest yielding (harvests 9-13) melon entries that exceeded 100 cwt per acre were El Gordo, F39, HD150, and HD252 (Table 9). Average fruit size for these entries were 13.7, 4.0, 5.5, and 5.6 lbs, respectively. (Table 9). El Gordo, OC164 and USAM 16155 yielded fruits that weighed mostly above 7.1 lbs. (Table 11).

The highest yielding entries across all harvests, in terms of tonnage (> 450 cwt/acre) were El Gordo, Electra, HD252, Lily, Master’s Choice, OC164, USAM 16141 and USAM 16155 (Table 13). The melon entries that produced the greatest number of fruit per acre (> 9,000) across all harvests were DaVinci, Electra, Infinite Gold, Master’s Choice, Oui, F39, SVML2502, SVML2690, and USAM 14836 (Table 14).

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Figure 1. Orange Flesh Melon photographs  Clayton, NC, 2018 on pages 4 – 15 of the booklet.

Cultigen	Company
Accolade	Syngenta
Athena	Syngenta
DaVinci	Sakata / Texas A&M*
El Gordo	DP Seeds, LLC
Electra	DP Seeds, LLC
Infinite Gold	Sakata / Texas A&M*
Kapaz	ENZA ZADEN
Kazta	ENZA ZADEN
Lilly	DP Seeds, LLC
Master’s Choice	DP Seeds, LLC
Napoli	DP Seeds, LLC
Oui	DP Seeds, LLC
F39	Texas A&M
HD150	Texas A&M
HD252	Texas A&M
HMX 4606	HM Clause
OC164	Texas A&M
SVML2502	Seminis
SVML2690	Seminis
SVML8346	Seminis
USAM 14836	VOLOAGRI/ US Agriseeds
USAM 14837	VOLOAGRI/ US Agriseeds
USAM 16141	VOLOAGRI/ US Agriseeds
USAM 16155	VOLOAGRI/ US Agriseeds

* These entries are seed developed by Sakata but were submitted by Texas A&M University.

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Table 1. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields, Fruit weight, (x 100), per acre for early¹ season harvests 1 – 4. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category				Totals 2	Avg. Wt. 3
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	150	24	0	174	5.5
Athena	0	202	24	0	226	4.9
DaVinci	3	12	0	0	14	3.0
El Gordo4	0	0	0	12	12	11.3
Electra	9	148	0	0	157	4.4
Infinite Gold	3	21	0	0	24	4.1
Kapaz	0	6	0	0	6	5.3
Kazta	0	4	0	0	4	3.3
Lilly	0	30	44	21	95	7.0
Master’s Choice	14	344	0	0	358	4.2
Napoli	8	207	0	0	215	4.4
Oui	25	187	0	0	212	3.8
F39	11	63	0	0	74	3.8
HD150	0	0	8	0	8	7.1
HD252	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
HMX 4606	8	183	0	0	191	4.5
OC164	0	0	9	11	20	9.1
SVML2502	45	145	0	0	190	3.4
SVML2690	42	21	0	0	63	2.4
SVML8346	2	120	8	0	130	4.7
USAM 14836	6	193	0	0	199	4.1
USAM 14837	0	67	0	0	67	4.7
USAM 16141	0	19	9	0	28	5.3
USAM 16155	0	48	25	43	116	7.6
Average	7	90	6	4	108	4.9
LSD (0.05)	15	72	33	57	67	1.2

¹ Early harvests (1-4) : 9 July – 16 July (77 – 84 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
⁴ This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery
markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.

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Table 2. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields, Fruit number per acre for early¹ season harvests 1-4. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category				Totals 2
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	2940	327	0	3267
Athena	0	4356	327	0	4683
DaVinci	109	327	0	0	436
El Gordo3	0	0	0	109	109
Electra	327	3267	0	0	3594
Infinite Gold	109	436	0	0	545
Kapaz	0	109	0	0	109
Kazta	0	109	0	0	109
Lilly	0	545	545	218	1307
Master’s Choice	545	7950	0	0	8494
Napoli	327	4465	0	0	4792
Oui	980	4574	0	0	5554
F39	436	1525	0	0	1960
HD150	0	0	109	0	109
HD252	0	0	0	0	0
HMX 4606	327	3920	0	0	4247
OC164	0	0	109	109	218
SVML2502	1742	3812	0	0	5554
SVML2690	1960	653	0	0	2614
SVML8346	109	2505	109	0	2723
USAM 14836	218	4465	0	0	4683
USAM 14837	0	1416	0	0	1416
USAM 16141	0	436	109	0	545
USAM 16155	0	762	327	436	1525
Average	300	2024	82	36	2441
LSD (0.05)	580	1561	428	569	1406

¹ Early harvests (1-4) : 9 July – 16 July (77 – 84 days after planting).
² Totals include all fruit size categories.
³ This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for
grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.
** Each number for fruit size category and total is rounded to the nearest whole number.**

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Table 3. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit weight perindicated size category – early season harvests 1- 4. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	86	14	0
Athena	0	89	11	0
DaVinci	18	82	0	0
El Gordo2	0	0	0	100
Electra	6	94	0	0
Infinite Gold	12	88	0	0
Kapaz	0	100	0	0
Kazta	0	100	0	0
Lilly	0	31	47	22
Master’s Choice	4	96	0	0
Napoli	4	96	0	0
Oui	12	88	0	0
F39	15	85	0	0
HD150	0	0	100	0
HD252	0	0	0	0
HMX 4606	4	96	0	0
OC164	0	0	45	55
SVML2502	24	76	0	0
SVML2690	66	34	0	0
SVML8346	2	92	6	0
USAM 14836	3	97	0	0
USAM 14837	0	100	0	0
USAM 16141	0	69	31	0
USAM 16155	0	41	22	37
Average	7	68	12	9

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest whole number.
² This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.

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Table 4. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit number per indicated size category – early season harvests 1-4. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	90	10	0
Athena	0	93	7	0
DaVinci	25	75	0	0
El Gordo2	0	0	0	100
Electra	9	91	0	0
Infinite Gold	20	80	0	0
Kapaz	0	100	0	0
Kazta	0	100	0	0
Lilly	0	42	42	17
Master’s Choice	6	94	0	0
Napoli	7	93	0	0
Oui	18	82	0	0
F39	22	78	0	0
HD150	0	0	100	0
HD252	0	0	0	0
HMX 4606	8	92	0	0
OC164	0	0	50	50
SVML2502	31	69	0	0
SVML2690	75	25	0	0
SVML8346	4	92	4	0
USAM 14836	5	95	0	0
USAM 14837	0	100	0	0
USAM 16141	0	80	20	0
USAM 16155	0	50	21	29
Average	10	68	11	8

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest whole number.
² This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.

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Table 5. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields, fruit weight, (x 100), per acre for mid¹ season harvests 5 – 8. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category				Totals 2	Avg. Wt. 3
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	95	48	0	143	5.6
Athena	0	88	8	0	97	5.7
DaVinci	22	221	0	0	244	3.6
El Gordo4	0	14	19	343	375	12.4
Electra	9	204	25	0	238	4.9
Infinite Gold	11	302	15	0	328	4.8
Kapaz	0	283	59	0	342	5.6
Kazta	16	172	0	0	187	3.9
Lilly	0	185	69	117	371	7.1
Master’s Choice	8	37	0	0	45	3.2
Napoli	6	99	0	0	105	4.7
Oui	17	103	0	0	121	4.1
F39	10	172	0	0	182	4.3
HD150	0	108	89	64	261	7.1
HD252	0	106	167	81	353	7.8
HMX 4606	3	74	0	0	77	5.2
OC164	0	40	87	300	427	9.8
SVML2502	18	87	0	0	105	3.6
SVML2690	102	87	0	0	189	2.8
SVML8346	25	185	25	0	235	4.5
USAM 14836	7	126	0	10	143	4.2
USAM 14837	15	269	41	0	325	4.6
USAM 16141	0	305	114	20	440	5.7
USAM 16155	0	49	106	90	245	7.9
Average	11	142	36	43	232	5.5
LSD (0.05)	27	88	71	136	114	1.7

¹ Mid harvests (5-8) : 18 July –  25 July (86 – 93 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.
⁴ This cultivar produced ripe fruit that is predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.

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Table 6. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields, Fruit number per acre for mid¹ season harvests 5 – 8. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category				Totals 2
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	1851	653	0	2505
Athena	0	1634	109	0	1742
DaVinci	871	5990	0	0	6861
El Gordo3	0	218	218	2723	3158
Electra	327	3920	327	0	4574
Infinite Gold	436	6207	218	0	6861
Kapaz	0	5227	762	0	5990
Kazta	653	4138	0	0	4792
Lilly	0	3267	871	1089	5227
Master’s Choice	327	980	0	0	1307
Napoli	218	2069	0	0	2287
Oui	653	2396	0	0	3049
F39	436	3920	0	0	4356
HD150	0	1851	1089	653	3594
HD252	0	1742	2069	762	4574
HMX 4606	109	1416	0	0	1525
OC164	0	653	1089	2614	4356
SVML2502	762	2069	0	0	2831
SVML2690	4247	2505	0	0	6752
SVML8346	980	3703	327	0	5009
USAM 14836	327	2723	0	109	3158
USAM 14837	653	5772	545	0	6970
USAM 16141	0	5990	1416	218	7623
USAM 16155	0	871	1307	871	3049
Average	458	2963	458	377	4256
LSD (0.05)	1083	1701	912	1221	1778

¹ Mid harvests (5-8) : 18 July – 25 July (86 – 93 days after planting).
² Totals include all fruit size categories.
³ This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for
grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.
** Each number for fruit size category and total is rounded to the nearest whole number.**

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Table 7. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit weight per indicated size category – mid season harvests 5-8. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	66	34	0
Athena	0	92	8	0
DaVinci	9	91	0	0
El Gordo2	0	4	5	91
Electra	4	86	10	0
Infinite Gold	3	92	5	0
Kapaz	0	83	17	0
Kazta	8	92	0	0
Lilly	0	50	19	32
Master’s Choice	17	83	0	0
Napoli	6	94	0	0
Oui	14	86	0	0
F39	5	95	0	0
HD150	0	41	34	25
HD252	0	30	47	23
HMX 4606	4	96	0	0
OC164	0	9	20	70
SVML2502	17	83	0	0
SVML2690	54	46	0	0
SVML8346	11	79	11	0
USAM 14836	5	88	0	7
USAM 14837	4	83	13	0
USAM 16141	0	69	26	5
USAM 16155	0	20	43	37
Average	7	69	12	12

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category and for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest
whole number.
² This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for
for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.

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Table 8. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit number per indicated size category – mid season harvest 5-8. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	74	26	0
Athena	0	94	6	0
DaVinci	13	87	0	0
El Gordo2	0	7	7	86
Electra	7	86	7	0
Infinite Gold	6	90	3	0
Kapaz	0	87	13	0
Kazta	14	86	0	0
Lilly	0	63	17	21
Master’s Choice	25	75	0	0
Napoli	10	90	0	0
Oui	21	79	0	0
F39	10	90	0	0
HD150	0	52	30	18
HD252	0	38	45	17
HMX 4606	7	93	0	0
OC164	0	15	25	60
SVML2502	27	73	0	0
SVML2690	63	37	0	0
SVML8346	20	74	7	0
USAM 14836	10	86	0	3
USAM 14837	9	83	8	0
USAM 16141	0	79	19	3
USAM 16155	0	29	43	29
Average	10	69	11	10

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest whole number.
² This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for
for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.

---

Table 9. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields, Fruit weight, (x 100), per acre for late¹ season harvests 9 – 12. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category				Totals 2	Avg. Wt. 3
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	32	16	0	48	6.5
Athena	0	25	0	0	25	5.7
DaVinci	24	46	0	0	69	3.0
El Gordo4	0	0	25	255	280	13.7
Electra	8	45	16	0	69	4.5
Infinite Gold	9	68	0	0	77	4.2
Kapaz	14	45	0	0	58	4.3
Kazta	3	93	0	0	95	4.1
Lilly	0	11	0	0	11	5.1
Master’s Choice	10	57	0	0	68	5.0
Napoli	6	42	0	0	48	4.0
Oui	8	42	0	0	50	4.6
F39	15	78	10	0	102	4.0
HD150	0	137	16	0	153	5.5
HD252	0	80	26	0	106	5.6
HMX 4606	5	43	0	0	48	4.0
OC164	0	5	0	10	15	6.8
SVML2502	11	23	0	0	34	3.1
SVML2690	30	30	0	0	60	2.8
SVML8346	5	15	0	0	20	2.9
USAM 14836	6	57	8	0	70	4.1
USAM 14837	3	15	0	0	18	3.9
USAM 16141	0	16	0	0	16	3.4
USAM 16155	0	41	50	0	92	6.0
Average	7	44	7	11	68	4.9
LSD (0.05)	18	44	39	220	62	1.7

¹ Late harvests (9-12) : 27 July – 3 August (95 – 102 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.
⁴ This cultivar produced ripe fruit that is predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.

---

Table 10. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields, Fruit number per acre for late¹ season harvests 9 – 12. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category				Totals 2
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	545	218	0	762
Athena	0	436	0	0	436
DaVinci	980	1307	0	0	2287
El Gordo3	0	0	327	1742	2069
Electra	327	871	218	0	1416
Infinite Gold	327	1525	0	0	1851
Kapaz	545	871	0	0	1416
Kazta	109	2178	0	0	2287
Lilly	0	218	0	0	218
Master’s Choice	436	1198	0	0	1634
Napoli	218	980	0	0	1198
Oui	327	871	0	0	1198
F39	762	1851	109	0	2723
HD150	0	2505	218	0	2723
HD252	0	1525	327	0	1851
HMX 4606	218	980	0	0	1198
OC164	0	109	0	109	218
SVML2502	436	653	0	0	1089
SVML2690	1307	871	0	0	2178
SVML8346	218	436	0	0	653
USAM 14836	218	1416	109	0	1742
USAM 14837	109	327	0	0	436
USAM 16141	0	436	0	0	436
USAM 16155	0	871	653	0	1525
Average	272	958	91	77	1398
LSD (0.05)	797	933	506	1537	1158

¹ Late harvests (9-12) : 27 July – 3 August (95 – 102 days after planting).
² Cumulative total includes all fruit size categories.
³ This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for
grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.
* 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 study yields; Percent¹ fruit weight per indicated size category – late season harvests 9-12. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	67	33	0
Athena	0	100	0	0
DaVinci	34	66	0	0
El Gordo2	0	0	9	91
Electra	12	65	23	0
Infinite Gold	11	89	0	0
Kapaz	23	77	0	0
Kazta	3	97	0	0
Lilly	0	100	0	0
Master’s Choice	15	85	0	0
Napoli	12	88	0	0
Oui	16	84	0	0
F39	15	76	9	0
HD150	0	90	10	0
HD252	0	76	24	0
HMX 4606	11	89	0	0
OC164	0	31	0	69
SVML2502	32	68	0	0
SVML2690	50	50	0	0
SVML8346	26	74	0	0
USAM 14836	8	81	11	0
USAM 14837	15	85	0	0
USAM 16141	0	100	0	0
USAM 16155	0	45	55	0
Average	12	74	7	7

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest  whole number.
² This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market  opportunities.

---

Table 12. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit number per indicated size category; Late Season harvests 9-12. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	71	29	0
Athena	0	100	0	0
DaVinci	43	57	0	0
El Gordo2	0	0	16	84
Electra	23	62	15	0
Infinite Gold	18	82	0	0
Kapaz	38	62	0	0
Kazta	5	95	0	0
Lilly	0	100	0	0
Master’s Choice	27	73	0	0
Napoli	18	82	0	0
Oui	27	73	0	0
F39	28	68	4	0
HD150	0	92	8	0
HD252	0	82	18	0
HMX 4606	18	82	0	0
OC164	0	50	0	50
SVML2502	40	60	0	0
SVML2690	60	40	0	0
SVML8346	33	67	0	0
USAM 14836	13	81	6	0
USAM 14837	25	75	0	0
USAM 16141	0	100	0	0
USAM 16155	0	57	43	0
Average	17	71	6	6

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest whole number.
² This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.

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Table 13. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields¹, Fruit weight, (x 100), per acre across all 12 harvests. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category				Totals 2	Avg. Wt. 3
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	277	88	0	366	5.5
Athena	0	316	32	0	348	5.1
DaVinci	49	279	0	0	327	3.4
El Gordo4	0	14	43	610	667	12.6
Electra	26	397	41	0	463	4.8
Infinite Gold	22	391	15	0	429	4.6
Kapaz	14	333	59	0	406	5.4
Kazta	18	268	0	0	286	4.0
Lilly	0	226	113	138	477	7.0
Master’s Choice	32	438	0	0	471	4.1
Napoli	20	347	0	0	367	4.4
Oui	50	333	0	0	383	3.9
F39	36	314	10	0	360	4.0
HD150	0	245	112	64	422	6.5
HD252	0	186	192	81	459	7.2
HMX 4606	17	300	0	0	317	4.5
OC164	0	44	96	321	461	9.6
SVML2502	73	255	0	0	328	3.4
SVML2690	174	139	0	0	313	2.7
SVML8346	32	320	33	0	386	4.6
USAM 14836	18	376	8	10	413	4.3
USAM 14837	17	351	41	0	410	4.6
USAM 16141	0	340	122	20	483	5.6
USAM 16155	0	139	181	133	453	7.3
Average	25	276	50	57	408	5.4
LSD (0.05)	14	18	10	12	14	1.0

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.
⁴ This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets.
May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.
** Each number for fruit size category and total is rounded to the nearest whole number.**

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Table 14. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields¹, Fruit number per acre across all 12 harvests. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category				Totals 2
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	5336	1198	0	6534
Athena	0	6425	436	0	6861
DaVinci	1960	7623	0	0	9583
Electra	980	8059	545	0	9583
El Gordo3	0	218	545	4574	5336
Infinite Gold	871	8168	218	0	9257
Kapaz	545	6207	762	0	7514
Kazta	762	6425	0	0	7187
Lilly	0	4029	1416	1307	6752
Master’s Choice	1307	10128	0	0	11435
Napoli	762	7514	0	0	8276
Oui	1960	7841	0	0	9801
F39	1634	7296	109	0	9039
HD150	0	4356	1416	653	6425
HD252	0	3267	2396	762	6425
HMX 4606	653	6316	0	0	6970
OC164	0	762	1198	2831	4792
SVML2502	2940	6534	0	0	9474
SVML2690	7514	4029	0	0	11543
SVML8346	1307	6643	436	0	8385
USAM 14836	762	8603	109	109	9583
USAM 14837	762	7514	545	0	8821
USAM 16141	0	6861	1525	218	8603
USAM 16155	0	2505	2287	1307	6098
Average	1030	5944	631	490	8095
LSD (0.05)	1397	1832	1013	1159	1437

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.***

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Table 15. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit weight per indicated size category – Cumulative harvests (12). Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	76	24	0
Athena	0	91	9	0
DaVinci	15	85	0	0
Electra	6	86	9	0
El Gordo2	0	2	7	91
Infinite Gold	5	91	4	0
Kapaz	3	82	15	0
Kazta	6	94	0	0
Lilly	0	47	24	29
Master’s Choice	7	93	0	0
Napoli	5	95	0	0
Oui	13	87	0	0
F39	10	87	3	0
HD150	0	58	27	15
HD252	0	40	42	18
HMX 4606	5	95	0	0
OC164	0	10	21	70
SVML2502	22	78	0	0
SVML2690	56	44	0	0
SVML8346	8	83	9	0
USAM 14836	4	91	2	3
USAM 14837	4	86	10	0
USAM 16141	0	70	25	4
USAM 16155	0	31	40	29
Average	7	71	11	11

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest whole number. 
² This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market opportunities.

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Table 16. Orange flesh melon cultigen study yields; Percent¹ fruit number per indicated size category – Cumulative harvests (12). Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Fruit size category
	≤ 3.0 lb	3.1 – 7.0 lb	7.1 – 9.0 lb	≥ 9.1 lb
Accolade	0	82	18	0
Athena	0	94	6	0
DaVinci	20	80	0	0
El Gordo2	0	4	10	86
Electra	10	84	6	0
Infinite Gold	9	88	2	0
Kapaz	7	83	10	0
Kazta	11	89	0	0
Lilly	0	60	21	19
Master’s Choice	11	89	0	0
Napoli	9	91	0	0
Oui	20	80	0	0
F39	18	81	1	0
HD150	0	68	22	10
HD252	0	51	37	12
HMX 4606	9	91	0	0
OC164	0	16	25	59
SVML2502	31	69	0	0
SVML2690	65	35	0	0
SVML8346	16	79	5	0
USAM 14836	8	90	1	1
USAM 14837	9	85	6	0
USAM 16141	0	80	18	3
USAM 16155	0	41	38	21
Average	11	71	9	9

¹ Percentages for each fruit size category for each cultigen were rounded to the nearest
whole number.
² This cultivar produced ripe fruits that are predominently greater than 9 lbs and are too large
for grocery markets. May be better suited for roadside stands or other niche market
opportunities.

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Table 17. Orange flesh melon cultigen study; percentage of fruit weight harvested among varying harvest intervals. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	Pecentage harvested among harvest periods
	Early Harvests1	Mid Harvests2	Late Harvests3
Accolade	48	39	13
Athena	65	28	7
DaVinci	4	74	21
El Gordo	2	56	42
Electra	34	51	15
Infinite Gold	6	77	18
Kapaz	1	84	14
Kazta	1	65	33
Lilly	20	78	2
Master’s Choice	76	9	14
Napoli	58	29	13
Oui	55	32	13
F39	21	51	28
HD150	2	62	36
HD252	0	77	23
HMX 4606	60	24	15
OC164	4	93	3
SVML2502	58	32	10
SVML2690	20	60	19
SVML8346	34	61	5
USAM 14836	48	35	17
USAM 14837	16	79	4
USAM 16141	6	91	3
USAM 16155	26	54	20
Average	28	56	16

¹ Early harvests (1-4) : 9 July – 16 July (77 – 84 days after planting). 
² Mid harvests (5-8) : 18 July – 25 July (86 – 93 days after planting). 
³ Late harvests (9-12) : 27 July – 3 August (95 – 102 days after planting). 
Study was planted 21 May, 2018. 

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

Cultigen	Pecentage harvested among harvest periods
	Early Harvests1	Mid Harvests2	Late Harvests3
Accolade	50	38	12
Athena	68	25	6
DaVinci	5	72	24
El Gordo	2	59	39
Electra	38	48	15
Infinite Gold	6	74	20
Kapaz	1	80	19
Kazta	2	67	32
Lilly	19	77	3
Master’s Choice	74	11	14
Napoli	58	28	14
Oui	57	31	12
F39	22	48	30
HD150	2	56	42
HD252	0	71	29
HMX 4606	61	22	17
OC164	5	91	5
SVML2502	59	30	11
SVML2690	23	58	19
SVML8346	32	60	8
USAM 14836	49	33	18
USAM 14837	16	79	5
USAM 16141	6	89	5
USAM 16155	25	50	25
Average	28	54	18

¹ Early harvests (1-4) : 9 July – 16 July (77 – 84 days after planting).
² Mid harvests (5-8) : 18 July – 25 July (86 – 93 days after planting).
³ Late harvests (9-12) : 27 July – 3 August (95 – 102 days after planting).
Study was planted 21 May, 2018.

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Table 19. Orange flesh melon hybrid cultigen study. Interior fruit quality¹. Clayton, NC, 2018.

Cultigen	SS2	LD3	Flesh Firmness4	Melon Type5
Accolade	12.1	1.1	4.4	E
Athena	11.3	1.1	3.6	E
DaVinci	13.1	1.2	4.5	T
El Gordo	10.1	1.2	3.6	T
Electra	10.2	1.0	4.4	LSL
Infinite Gold	11.5	1.0	5.2	LSL
Kapaz	12.7	1.0	5.9	LSL
Kazta	13.2	1.0	6.7	LSL
Lilly	11.7	1.4	2.6	Crenshaw
Master’s Choice	9.3	1.0	2.8	E
Napoli	12.1	1.2	4.3	T
Oui	12.9	1.0	3.5	T
F39	10.6	1.0	2.5	Western
HD150	12.7	1.2	3.5	HD
HD252	12.1	0.9	4.7	HD
HMX 4606	12.5	1.1	5.6	T
OC164	11.7	1.1	4.6	HD
SVML2502	11.8	1.1	4.5	LSL
SVML2690	13.6	0.9	6.2	T
SVML8346	11.3	1.0	4.4	LSL
USAM 14836	12.8	1.0	5.4	LSL
USAM 14837	12.0	1.1	4.7	LSL
USAM 16141	12.4	1.1	4.6	LSL
USAM 16155	9.7	1.2	3.0	E
Average	11.8	1.1	4.4
LSD (0.05)	1.4	0.1	0.9

¹ Most measurements were obtained from fruits in harvests 2-6.
² SS = Indicates sweetness, average of 5 melons per replication (20 total).
³ LD = Length and diameter ratio, average of 5 melons per replication.
⁴ Flesh Firmness is represented in pounds.
⁵ Type: E= Eastern Shipper, ESL = Extended Shelf Life, LSL = Long Shelf Life, T = Tuscan.