LEAFLET 79
MARCH 1970
SOUTH4LAND-
A Large Cantaloupe for the South
JD. NORTON, Associate Profoessor of Horticulture
li( t li 5'I I II, ) 5 i OS t'\ itdht i ))( \ iri~t \
ailpftcl lot lk iiS g ill tilt Soiil(tlterltt I
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sistaliit to do)55 ll\ iItfdxs dliii powder\
miildlew anit moderalte resistane to gLout1
myx stemn blighit. It prod(uces good1 Svilds
IPrex allt we of ox ox ililesx\\ iti ii
griiioniv Steim l)liglt ailt Suisceptiblility of'
Solitlledstei i Stjltes. 'Ilie jlt rodl tili
Iiti r i i i miki oxxi sour e, ill ftle late
thu ties, ofi the Miig qillitv tiomw itS uh
(1(5 i('sistuiit \a it e Siolithi s perfect
thiiii~sti jte thet ct\15t( of reisitancet
to tloxx ix liijldc\\. It also (lelionistrtdl
that highi 
1
iiaitv Iri t> coulld lie pro-
ducied iii lotosud ellilatcs. Altliwh
SilithiS PCihit is Still ross Ii to at liioittd
ctilt, its liitei it55 d erratttitc p dliti
ixitx, dolot i li dlt its fplalitioa l'or
cliomeriaOl p1 oduetioii. 131einig for vita
ritties ad1apted tio ioiitjioiiS ill the Solotl
ti1tistStts hals iiltieil5(d tilpidl andi lits
Icillteil iiti dictiu I of S tieties Suchl
its Sciliuli llo Flriti Noii 1, loifsiii
(Geori -T. Edt~isto, Edisto 47, and (,ult-
Stiream I tiOSeloped hx I loridla, Georgia,
aind( South (Iatolilia agi uiltiiial texpeti
mieilt stttiiii s id the USDA Agi ieltiiial
lRes(ita Iisui e resploii el V).
Southlilali iti iil i 11 eline hiront1 the
taittil~oipe 
cioss l'loiisuii 
x corgiat 
47.'
1-ollo\\ifog tic cross, sotti hurm >o> 'u~ul
selted F. field selettitiis xx ele (ilbiijitd
toiloii t the toialtiiii stock fori Southi
hlud. Sietl I'i 1iii itiii-allx, pollfitateil fidd
so
1 
to Ios iln isola ted lass 1)1ocks" were
lllissit I'or foeld plaitiliu.oys. Thius, Suouth
ltil itttil lilleelfrignt ioxd gl of s ee
tituli oii Iesistilit yuhiiits tol ibtaii Iesis-
de\ss ittid tl iliiis teirn hilit.
Solitlilaod1 coullilles pow55dery mrildc\xx
tlo\sox\il des iiid gilu11111ix Steml blilit
I esistaitei- djlls it rloiii ;lllgiia 47 iiid
Fumn ilo Ieslpeetixc~ elsxitli high qiitt
(felixc ((1 m fi th pilijitental \i it ics.
A GR I CU LT U RAL E X P ERI M ENT S TA TIO N
S U T HiL AN n
AUBURN UNIVERSITYE. V. Smith, Director Auburn, Alabama
PEDIGREE OF SOUTHLAND
Florisun
Southland
Ga. 47
In well-grown spring plantings, the
fruit of Southland resemble those of
Hale's Best Jumbo, and they have su-
perior quality for eating and shipping.
The seedlings of this plant are vigorous,
becoming exceedingly vigorous at rela-
tively high temperatures. Although
Southland possesses resistance to preval-
ent diseases, spraying for control of dis-
eases is desirable when weather is fav-
orable for development of these diseases.
The fruits are mostly elliptical in
shape, although many may be more
rounded than elliptical. Fruit will meas-
ure 5 to 6 inches in diameter and 6
to 8 inches in length. Fruit size will
vary at different fertility levels and in
different production areas but will aver-
age close to Hale's Best Jumbo. The
melon averaged 3.04 pounds as compared
La. 8-2
L561B1A
La. 7-1
La. 8-2
L273A1A
with 2.73 pounds for Hale's Best Jumbo.
The fruit of Southland are slightly to
deeply ribbed and are well covered with
a medium to rather coarse net. The flesh
is thick, deep orange in color, and of ex-
cellent flavor and aroma under moder-
ately dry conditions and fair to good
under more humid conditions. Seed cav-
ity is moderately small. The fruit ma-
tures in 70 to 75 days, approximately
same as Hale's Best Jumbo. For best
quality, it should be harvested near the
full-slip stage.
Southland has been grown in trials as
AC-63-11 at a number of substations of
the Auburn University Agricultural Ex-
periment Station, the Southern Coopera-
tive Cantaloupe Variety Trials in other
southern states, and grown in demonstra-
tion plantings by commercial growers.
YIELD, FRUIT WEIGHT, AND QUALITY OF CANTALOUPE VARIETIES,
FIVE ALABAMA LOCATIONs,' 1964-69
Variety
Southland 
2
Hales's Best Jumbo
Edisto 47
Yield/acre
Lb.
19,569
14,621
15,932
Average all locations
Fruit wt.
Lb.
3.04
2.73
3.02
'Gulf Coast, Wiregrass, Chilton Area Horticulture, and North Alabama Horticulture
Substations, and Main Station, Auburn.
2 Tested under number 
AC-63-11.
Soluble solids
Pct.
11.8
6.4
10.1
Southland compares favorably with es-
tablished varieties in yielding ability, but
it is superior to these varieties in quality
and sugar as indicated by soluble solids
in the table.
AVAILABILITY OF SEED
Seed of Southland are being increased
by the Alabama Crop Improvement As-
sociation and will be available from local
seed dealers for 1970 plantings.
SUMMARY
The cantaloupe variety, Southland, de-
veloped in a continuing breeding pro-
gram, has been described, The variety
possesses resistance to downy mildew,
powdery mildew, and gummy stem
blight. It produces melons of excellent
edible quality and market appearance.
The new variety should help fill the need
for commercial acceptable varieties of
good quality adapted to production in
the South.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author gratefully acknowledges
the assistance of C. C. Carlton and K. C.
Short, Chilton Area Horticulture Sub-
station, Thorsby, Alabama; G. T. Shar-
man, Foundation Seed Stocks Farm,
Thorsby, Alabama; Jordan Langford,
Plant Breeding Unit, Tallassee, Alabama;
M. H. Hollingsworth, North Alabama
Horticulture Substation, Cullman, Ala-
bama; H. F. Yates and J. E. Barrett, Gulf
Coast Substation, Fairhope, Alabama;
and C. A. Brogden, Wiregrass Substation,
Headland, Alabama, for increasing seed
and conducting yield trials.
The valuable assistance of participants
in the Southern Cooperative Cantaloupe
Variety Trials is also acknowledged. La.
7-1 and La. 8-2 were developed by R.
T. Brown, South Louisiana Experiment
Station, Port Sulfur, Louisiana. L-561B1A
and L-273A1A were developed by the
author following original research by Dr.
J. M. Montelaro, University of Florida,
Gainesville, Florida.
LITERATURE CITED
Jamison, F. S., J. Nontelaro, and J. D.
Norton. 1962. Two New Cantaloupes
for Florida Growers, University of Flor-
ida Agricultural Experiment Station Cir-
cular S-139A.