ihsanullah shareefi Master Degree in the field of (plant pathology) at University of Agriculture I am glad to share that I have completed my msc(hons)plant pathology with research focussed on public sector reforms, policy and performance management systems from…

1. Muskmelon
Cucumis melo L.

2. Classification
• English Name:
Muskmelon
• Botanical Name:
Cucumis melo L.
• Family:
Cucurbitaceae
• Chromosome No.:
2n= 24

3. Origin
• China is the primary centre of origin of
muskmelon.
• The Indo-Burma centre is considered as the
secondary centre of origin.
• The early travelers have introduced it to
Europe and from Europe to the USA.
• At present muskmelon is being cultivated
throughout the world under tropical and sub
tropical climatic conditions.

4. Top Ten Producers
• India
• Thailand
• Pakistan
• Afghanistan
• Iran
• Egypt
• China
• Nepal
• Sri Lanka
• Turkey

5. Area and Production in Pakistan
• In Pakistan, muskmelon was cultivated
on about 1688 hectares during 2010, and
its total production was about 17547
metric tons during the same year.

6. Nutritive Value per 100 g
• Fruit is sweet and musky in flavour.
• Water 95 %
• Protein 0.6 %
• Fat 0.2 %
• Carbohydrates 3.5 g
• Ca 32 mg
• Phosphorus 41 mg
• Iron 1.4 mg
• Carotene 16 mg
• Total soluble contents 8-17 %
• Vitamins (B and C) 26 mg

7. Botanical Classification
• On the basis of Fruit Shape
• Fruit is small, round, in-edible and grown at higher altitudes.
• Fruit is large and edible.
• Fruit is netted with green background.
• White skin with smooth musky odor.
• Fruit is very large, thick flesh, no odor, oriental pickling melon.
• Snake melon: with long peculiar shape.
• Garden Melon: Fruit has odor like mango fruit.
• Pomegranate melon: have colored flesh.
• Fuller snap melon: Skin cracked on maturity.
• On basis of Growing region
• Melon growing in hot dry regions.
• Melon growing in hot humid regions.
• Melon growing in cool dry regions.

8. General Description
• The characteristics of the genus Cucumis are fruit fleshy, many seeded
pepo, flower solitary, flowers lemon yellow to deep orange, leaves deep
or shallowly lobed not pinnatified, corolla rotate deeply parled and
small flowers.
• It may be andromonoecious, gynoecious or monoecious.
• Monoecious and andromonoecious are most common.
• Muskmelon is highly cross pollinated crop and honeybees are
pollinators.
• On the day prior to anthesis, the hermaphrodite flowers are
emusculated.
• Emusculation is not required in on gynoecious and monoecious types.
• It is annual stem short with tendrils, leaves hairy, mail and female
flower on the same plant.
• Fruit is variable in size and shape.
• Flesh is white, orange and pale green.
• Rind yellow or green with smooth and wrinkled surface.
• Seeds are numerous, oval, flattened, normally white.

9. Seeds
Leaves
Fruit
Flower

10. Environmental Requirement
• Seed sown in wet season to mature during warm and dry weather.
• Excessive humidity adversely affect flowering.
• Root system sensitive to exposure to sun and require soil with
moisture retaining capacity.
• May be grown anywhere in the planes of Punjab.
• May be grown up to 21-38 ºC.
• Differences of temperature of days and nights is essential for
sweetness of the fruit.
• If rains occur at ripening stage, quality effected and disease
attack occur at plant.
• Growth is retarded at monsoon period.
• Short day length promotes female flower production.
• Plants are sensitive to low temperature and frost.

11. Soil
• It requires sandy loam soils for early crop
while loam soils are good for high yield
potential.
• The soil pH should be 6.0 to 6.8.
• For higher production, the soil should be
rich in organic manure with proper
drainage facility.

12. Sowing time and Method
• Sowing is made after frost, most suitable time is Mid-
Feb to Mid-March. Late crop is some time effected
with rain.
• Second crop is planted in June.
• P-P distance 50 cm.
• B-B distance 250 cm.
• R-R distance 60-70 cm.
• In beds, CHOKA method is used.
• On flat surface, KERA method is used.

13. Seed Rate
• 4-6 kg seeds will be sufficient to sow one
hectare.
• However, in case transplanting technique, only
1 kg seed would be sufficient for one hectare.
• Seeds can be sown directly in the field or in
the polythene bags, for raising of transplants of
muskmelon.
• The transplants will become ready in about 25
to 30 days.

14. Fertilizer Requirement
• The manure and fertilizers in muskmelon should be given
as per availability of nutrients in the soil after soil testing.
• If soil testing is not possible, FYM @ 25,000-45,000
kg/ha should be given. It is mixed in the soil at the time
of last ploughing or applied 10-15 days before sowing the
seeds.
• Recommended rates of NPK are 100:40:40 kg per
hectares for muskmelon production at commercial scales.
• Half quantity of nitrogen and full quantity of each
phosphorus and potash is applied in the furrow at the time
of sowing.
• Remaining quantity may apply 30 days after sowing or
just before flowering.

15. General Cultivation
• Hoeing and weeding at early stages.
• Frequent shallow cultivation until and unless grow to
thick because melons are very shallow rooted.
• Earthing-up at the base of plant after 6 weeks of
sowing.
• Thinning
• When plants reached a stage of 2-3 leaves, thin to 2
plants per hole and then reduced 1 plant per hole at
height of 30-60 cm.

16. Irrigation
• Pre irrigation is done before sowing, if there is
insufficient moisture in the soil.
• Muskmelon plant requires an abundance of
moisture during the period when the vines are
developing most rapidly and up to the time the
melons are practically grown.
• This crop required 11 irrigations total 550 mm
water is applied at the intervals of 4 to 9 days.
• Furrow and basin irrigation is commonly
adapted for watering in muskmelon.

17. Harvesting
• The crop is ready for harvest 70-90 days after seed sowing
depending upon the variety and season.
• The fruits of muskmelon will take 20-30 days from fruit
setting to reach maturity stage.
• Maturity in muskmelon can be determined from the change in
outer color to yellow green or brown.
• The fruit also slip from the vine. This is due to the
development of abscission layer. This is also called slip stage.
• For local market, fruit may be harvested at full slip stage.
• For distant market, these should be harvested at half slip stage.
• Yield:
• Fruit yield varies from 10,000 to 15,000 kg per hectares.

18. Storage
• Bhatnagar and Singh (1982) conducted
storage studies on different muskmelon
cultivars.
• They found that fruits can be stored at
room temperature (32 ± 8°C) for up to
eight days and at ± 1°C for up to 25 days.

19. Varieties
• Caribbean: Smith Perfect
• East Africa: Hales Best, Imperial-45
• T-96: Early variety, heavy yielding produced
yellow medium size fruits with green strips.
• Chichawatni: Late variety, small sweet fruit
with white coloured flesh, easily marketed.
• Ravi

20. Uses
• Immature fruit cooked as vegetable.
• Ripened fruits are healthful and highly relished by all
rich and poor, young and old.
• They have cooling effect and prevent constipation.
• The color thickness and texture of the flesh and
absence of fibrous material determines the quality of
muskmelon.
• Softening of fruit occur by changing from insoluble
to soluble form of pectin.

21. Insects
Aphid
Fruit fly
Beetles

22. Aphids
• Aphids damage the plants by sucking the leaf
sap.
• In young stage, cotyledonary leaves crinkle
and in severe cases the plants wither.
• The leaves of fully grown vines turn yellow
and plant loses its vigour.
• Control:
• Spray with hot pepper extract or soap solution
proved to be effective remedy against aphids
in case of muskmelon.

23. Fruit fly
• Fruit fly is the most destructive insect pest of cucurbit family.
• Maggots of this fly causes severe damage to young developing
fruits.
• The adult fly lays eggs in the flowers.
• The eggs hatch into maggots, which feed inside the fruits and
causes rotting
• Control:
• This fly is difficult to control because its maggots feed inside
the fruits, protected from direct contact with insecticides.
• Bury any infested fruits to prevent the build up of fruit fly
populations.
• To prevent flies from laying eggs inside the fruits, enclose the
muskmelon in paper while it is on the vine.

24. Beetles
• The pest attacks the muskmelon at the seedling
stage.
• They make holes in cotyledonary leaves.
• As a result the seedlings in the young stage
die.
• Control:
• Spraying Carbaryl (4 g/litre of water) or
Metacid (1ml/litre of water) during the
seedling stage effectively controls the pest.

25. Diseases
• Melon mosaic
• Stem and soft rot of muskmelon
• Powdery Mildew

26. Melon Mosaic
• The infected plants are stunted and the tips of the
runners and proliferated shoots from the crown
protrude markedly above the ground level.
• The internodes are shorter and the leaves are
smaller and malformed.
• Older leaves exhibit conspicuous mottling and
dark green raised blisters of varying sizes and
shapes.
• Control Measures:
• This disease is transmitted by aphid so apply
recommended insecticide to control insect
population.

27. Stem and Soft Rot of Muskmelon
• This disease was first time recorded in Gujarat,
India.
• The main symptoms of the disease are sudden
wilting and death of plants.
• Control Measure:
• Spray of recommended fungicide is a powerful
remedy against soft rot.

28. Powdery Mildew
• This disease is favored by high humidity and tends to occur on
older leaves first.
• Symptoms first appear as white powdery residue primarily on
the upper leaf surface.
• On the lower surface of the leaves circular patches or spots
appear.
• In severe cases, these spread, coalesce and cover both the
surfaces of the leaves and spread also to the petioles, stem, etc.
• Severely attacked leaves become brown and shriveled and
defoliation may occur.
• Fruits of the affected plants do not develop fully and remain
small.
• Control: Carbendazim (1ml/litre of water) is sprayed
immediately after the appearance of the disease. 2-3 sprays are
taken at an interval of 15 days.