The objective of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics of parents and experimental hybrids of net melon improvement program developed in the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), in Jaboticabal, São Paulo state, Brazil. Six net melon lineages (Jab-3, Jab-7, Jab-11, Jab-18, Jab-9, and Jab-20), belonging to the breeding program of melon from the UNESP were used and all their hybrid combinations as well as their reciprocal crosses. We used the randomized blocks design, with three replications and 38 treatments. From these 38 treatments [six lines, 15 hybrids, 15 reciprocal crosses and two commercial cultivars (Bônus nº2 and Louis)] we evaluated following physicochemical characteristics: fruit mass, pulp thickness, fruit coat thickness, netting degree of the coat, seed looseness, soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, maturation index, pulp firmness, and Vitamin C. The minimum mass of 0.8 kg per fruit of net melon and the minimum of 10°Brix soluble solids allowed to identify the genotypes: Jab-9 x Jab-3, Jab-18 x Jab-20, Jab-18 x Jab-11, Jab-7 x Jab-20, Jab-7 x Jab-11, Jab-20 x Jab-7, and, Jab-3 x Jab-20, as promising. These genotypes are therefore suitable for participating in assessment tests in the main net melon producing areas of Brazil and on different planting dates.
Cucumis melo; plant breeding; fruit quality
