Breeding report of a new melon cultivar ‘Cuixue 7’

Abstract:‘Cuixue 7’, a new early-medium ripening melon hybrid cultivar, is the offspring of a cross between the parent lines‘154 CJ’and‘163 CZ’.‘154 CJ’is an inbred line selected by 7 generations after crossing one bred melon line with the female parent of‘Cuixue 5’, and‘163 CZ’is also an inbred line selected by 7 generations after crossing between‘Chuangxin 1’and the male parent of ‘Zheha 2’. The fruit is oval shape. The average fruit weight is about 1.66 kg. The pericarp color is white with irregular fine lines. The flesh is white with a slightly red spot near the base, and the inside is reddish. The flesh thickness is about 3.7 cm with a crisp texture, and the center soluble solid content is about 17%. The coat of seeds is light yellow with about 28 g of thousand-grain weight. It is suitable for planting in the greenhouse from late February to the first and middle of June in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. The whole growth period was about 100 days, and the fruit development period was about 38 days. This cultivar exhibited strongly resistant to low temperature and stem blight, and easy to bear fruit with the characteristic of storage. The average yield of 666.7 m2 is 2 500 kg. In vertical cultivation, the best density is 1 300 plants per 666.7 m² with two rows in each border, 50 cm of two plants and 50-60 cm of row space, while the best density is 700-800 plants per 666.7 m² with two rows in each border, 40- 50 cm of two plants and 35-40 cm of row space in creeping cultivation. Generally, we recommend single vine pruning for vertical cultivation and double vine pruning for creeping. Base fertilizer is mainly used for fertilization, including organic fertilizer and N, P, K compound fertilizer. Water content must be strictly controlled during flowering and the irrigation should be stopped one week before harvest. Pay attention to the prevention and control of soft rot and powdery mildew on plants.