LEAFLT 84OCTOBER 1972
-Chilton .
a High Quality Fruit
for the Commercial Market
JOSEPH D.- NORTON
Associate Professor
Deportm ent of Horticulture
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION/AUBURN UNIVERSITY
R. Dennis Rouse, Director Auburn, Alabama
AC 68 55
LEAFLET 84
CHILTON is a new cantaloupe variety
adapted to the Southeastern United
States. It has resistance to Pseudoper-
onospora cubensis (downy mildew),
Spherotheca fuliginea (powdery mil-
dew) and Mycosphaerella citrullina
(gummy stem blight). It produces good
yields of high quality fruit suitable to
packing for the commercial market.
Prevalence of foliar diseases, particu-
larly downy mildew and gummy stem
blight, and susceptibility of existing
varieties to these diseases discourage the
growing of cantaloupes in the Southeast-
ern States. In 1970 and 1971 the in-
troduction of the high quality, disease
resistant varieties, Southland (2), and
Gulfcoast (3), demonstrated that high
quality fruits could be produced in hu-
mid climates. Due to the large size of
the fruit, Southland is not suitable for
packing for the commercial market.
Therefore, Chilton meets the need for
smaller fruit for the commercial market.
ORIGIN
Chilton is an inbred line from the
cross AC-63-11 x PI 140471. Following
the cross, a backcrossing and disease
screening program was followed with
selection of disease resistant seedlings
that produced high quality fruit. Thus,
Chilton originated from a program of
backcrossing and inbreeding to obtain
resistance to gummy stem blight, downy
mildew, and powdery mildew. It has
been grown in trials as AC-68-55 at Au-
burn and a number of substations of the
Auburn University Agricultural Experi-
ment Station and in the Southern Co-
operative Cantaloupe Variety Trials in
other Southern States.
DISEASE RESISTANCE
Chilton has been rated for resistance
to gummy stem blight, downy mildew,
and powdery mildew, in several tests at
locations in Alabama and other South-
ern States, Table 1. Resistance to gum-
my stem blight was incorporated into the
TABLE 1. DISEASE INDEX RATINGS 
FOR
DOWNY MILDEW, 
POWDERY MILDEW,
AND GUMMY STEM BLIGHT
Disease index'
Variety or Dow- Pow- 
Gum-
breeding ny dery 
my Aver-
mil- mil- stem age
dew dew blight
Chilton 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Edisto 47 ------ 1.5 1.5 3.5 2.2
Gulfcoast--------- 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Hales Best Jumbo 8.5 3.5 5.0 4.0
Southland 1.0 1.0 
1.5 1.2
1 Index: 0 - no injury, up to 5 - all
plants severely damaged.
breeding lines through a screening pro-
gram which utilized an incubation 
cham-
ber and greenhouse to eliminate sus-
ceptible plants from the populations. Re-
sistance of Chilton plants has been ex-
cellent in field plantings in 1968, 1969,
1970, and 1971. The high level of re-
sistance to gummy stem blight was se-
cured from PI 140471 (3,4). Resistance
to downy mildew and powdery mildew
was obtained from Georgia 47 and
Florisun through AC-63-11 (Southland)
(1).
FRUIT
The fruit is mostly round with some
being round-oval in shape. They meas-
ure 5 to 6 inches in diameter with an
average of 21/2, Table 2. Fruit size will
vary at different fertility levels and in
TABLE 2. AVERAGE YIELD, FRUIT WEIGHT,
AND SOLUBLE SOLIDS OF CANTALOUPE
CULTIVARS AND BREEDING LINES
GROWN IN FIVE ALABAMA
LOCATIONS 1968-1971
Variety or 
Average all 
locations
breeding lines Yield Fruit 
Soluble
per acre weight solids
Lb. Lb. Pct.
Chilton ........ 19,570 2.51 12.92
Edisto 47 ............- 18,342 8.07 10.89
Gulfcoast------ 20,293 2.64 12.61
Hales Best
Jumbo------ 12,054 2.64 6.56
Southland- ---- 19,642 3.18 11.35
different production areas. Adequate size
for the commercial pack of 24 and 27
size melons may be secured with ade-
quate fertility and irrigation.
Being a sister line of Gulfcoast, Chil-
ton is similar in fruit characteristics to
Gulfcoast. However, the fruit of Chil-
ton are slightly smaller than Gulfcoast,
Table 2. Chilton fruit tends to be more
round than Gulfcoast fruit. Soluble
solids content of Chilton are slightly
higher than Gulfcoast.
Chilton fruit is smaller than the "Jum-
bo" melons commonly grown and hauled
loose without the use of boxes or crates.
Therefore, it may not sell as well on
the open market in competition with
jumbo size melons. Due to its smaller
size, the grower should either market it
with wholesale produce buyers or with
other outlets for high quality fruit.
The fruit is slightly ribbed, well cov-
ered with a medium net, and matures
in 70-75 days, approximately the same
as Hales Best Jumbo and Southland. The
flesh is thick, deep orange in color, and
of excellent flavor and aroma. Seed
cavity is small.
The fruit is very firm and adapted to
handling in commercial markets. The
flesh is firm at the full slip stage; how-
ever, it will soften to an excellent condi-
tion for dessert quality after 3 to 4 days.
Chilton compares favorably with es-
tablished varieties in yielding ability,
Table 2; however, it is superior to ex-
isting varieties in shipping quality and
edible quality as indicated by taste and
soluble solids, Table 2.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author gratefully acknowledges
the assistance of Grover 
Sowell, Jr.,
Pathologist, USDA Southeastern Plant
Introduction Station, Experiment, Geor-
gia, for discovery of resistance to Mycos-
phaerella citrullina and counseling in
screening techniques with the organism.
The mode of inheritance of resistance
to Mycosphaerella citrullina was deter-
mined by Krishna Prasad, 
former gradu-
ate assistant, Department of 
Horticul-
ture, Auburn University. Essential assist-
ance was rendered by C. 
C. Carlton and
K. C. Short, Chilton Area Horticulture
Substation, Clanton, Alabama, 
in in-
creasing seed for grower trials 
and con-
ducting variety trials.
Valuable assistance was rendered 
by
G. T. Sharman, Foundation 
Seedstocks
Farm; Jordan Langford, Plant Breeding
Unit; M. H. Hollingsworth, North Ala-
bama Horticulture Substation; H. F.
Yates and J. E. Barrett, Gulf Coast 
Sub-
station; and C. A. Brogden 
(retired)
Wiregrass Substation, in conducting
yield trials and increasing seed.
The assistance of participants in 
the
Southern Cooperative Cantaloupe 
Variety
Trials is also acknowledged.
LITERATURE CITED
(1) JAMISON, F. S., JAMES MONTELARO,
AND J. D. NORTON. 1962. Florida
No. I and Florisun. Two New
Cantaloupe Varieties for Florida
Growers. Univ. of Fla. Agr. Exp.
Sta., Cir. S-139A.
(2) NORTON, JOSEPH D. 1971. Gulf-
coast- A Sweet Cantaloupe for the
Produce Chain Store Market. 
Au-
burn Univ. Agr. Exp. Sta., 
Leaf. 82.
(3) NORTON, J. D. 1970. Southland-
A Large Cantaloupe for the South,
Auburn Univ. Agr. Exp. Sta., Leaf.
79.
(4) PRASAD, KRISHNA AND J. D. NORTON.
1967. Inheritance of Resistance to
Mycosphaerella citrullina in Musk-
melon. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. Vol.
91:396-400.
(5) SOWELL, GROVER, JR., KRISHNA
PRASAD AND J. D. NORTON. 1966.
Resistance of Cucumis melo Intro-
ductions to Mycosphaerella citrul-
lina. Plant Dis. Rept., Vol. 50, No. 9.
Development' of Chilton
Green
Greent
1962
house
1962
Field
1963
itouse
1963
Field
1964
Greenhouse
196491965,1966
Field
1967
Field
1968
Field
196991970 1971
IPield