Snapmelon ([i]Cucumis melo[/i] L. [i]Momordica[/i] group), an indigenous cucurbit from India with immense value for melon breeding

Narinder P.S. Dhillon (1) , H. Singh (2) , Michel Pitrat (3) , Antonio J. Monforte (4) , James D. Mccreight (5)

1 World Vegetable Center - East and Southeast Asia
2 Department of Vegetable Science
3 GAFL - Génétique et Amélioration des Fruits et Légumes
4 CSIC - IBMCP
5 USDA-ARS : Agricultural Research Service

Snapmelon ([i]Cucumis melo[/i] L. [i]Momordica[/i] Group; 2n=2x=24) is native to India, where it is widely cultivated and is commonly called ‘phut’, which means to split. Immature fruits are cooked or eaten raw. In this paper we review the wealth of genetic resources in Indian snapmelon landraces for resistance to fungal and viral diseases, nematodes, and insects, and tolerance to drought, soil salinity, and high temperature. Global melon breeding programs have transferred many of these qualities into openpollinated and hybrid cultivars of sweet melons cultivated in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas. Snapmelon is a source of high fruit acidity, a trait that has been utilized to breed uniquely flavored melon cultivars. Resistance genes to combat pathogens and pests, and to strengthen crop resilience against climate change have been identified in snapmelon collections from various parts of India. More effort is needed to collect, characterize, evaluate and preserve snapmelon diversity in genebanks

Mots clés: disease resistance; pest resistance; molecular markers; resistance to abiotic stress; fruit quality

Domaines: Sciences agricoles

Narinder P.S. Dhillon, H. Singh, Michel Pitrat, Antonio J. Monforte, James D. Mccreight. Snapmelon ([i]Cucumis melo[/i] L. [i]Momordica[/i] group), an indigenous cucurbit from India with immense value for melon breeding. Acta Horticulturae, 2015, 1102, pp.99-108. ⟨hal-01351898⟩