tO Ci 0) 4< v~ vt z wf H0 <0 <4 4< n A. <0 N V4 h °i. CONTENTS. Page ORIGIN ........................................................................... 3 DISEASE RESISTANCE....................................V........................ AVAILABILITY OF SEED ......................................................... 5 6 LITERATURE CITED .............................................................. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................. APPENDIX .......................................................................... 7 8 9 FIRST PRINTING 4M, MAY 1985 Informaztion contained herein is available to all without regard to race, color, sex, or national origin. AUrora: A High Quality "Jumbo" Cantaloupe J. D. Norton, R. D. Cosper, D. A. Smith and K. S. Rymal' Prevalence of foliar diseases, particularly downy mildew, powdery mildew, and gummy stem blight, and susceptibility of existing varieties to these diseases discourage the growing of cantaloupes in the Southeastern United States. In 1970, 1971, and 1972 the introduction of the high quality, disease resistant varieties Southland (4), Gulfcoast (3), and Chilton (2) by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station demonstrated that high quality fruit could be produced in humid climates. The newest release from this breeding program is AUrora a multiple disease resistant cantaloupe variety adapted to growing conditions in the Southeastern United States. It has resistance to Pseudoperonospora cubensis (downy mildew), Spherotheca fuliginea (powdery mildew), and Didymella bryoniae (gummy stem blight). Due to the large size of the fruit, AUrora is especially suited for home, local, and commercial markets where a "jumbo" type fruit is preferred. ORIGIN AUrora is an inbred line from the cross Southland x PI 140471, figure. Following the cross, a backcrossing and disease screening program was followed with selection of disease resistant seedlings that produced high quality fruit. Thus, AUrora originated from a program of backcrossing and inbreeding ' Respectively, Professor, Research Associate, Professor, and Associate Professor of Horticulture. 1962 Greenhouse 1962 Field 1963 Greenhouse 1963 Field 1964 Greenhouse 1965,1966 Field 967,1968 Field 1969,1970,1971, 1972,1973,1974 Field '975 FielId Pedigree of AUrora jumbo Cantaloupes. to obtain resistance to downy mildew, gummy stem blight, and powdery mildew. It has been grown in trials as AC-6852 at the Main Station number of substations Smith Research (Auburn), the E. V. Center (Shorter), and a of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and in the Southern Cooperative Cantaloupe Variety Trials in other Southern States. [4] DISEASE RESISTANCE AUrora has been rated for resistance to downy mildew, gummy stem blight, and powdery mildew, in tests at several locations in Alabama and in other Southern States. Disease index ratings for greenhouse screening tests using the Sowell method (6) are given in table 1. Resistance to gummy stem blight was incorporated into the breeding line through a screening program which utilized an incubation chamber and greenhouse to eliminate susceptible plants from the populations (5,6). Multiple disease resistance of AUrora plants has been excellent in field plantings. Resistance to gummy stem blight and a tolerance to pickleworm and rootknot nematode were secured from PI 140471 (5,6). Resistance to downy mildew and powdery mildew was obtained from Georgia 47 and Florisun through Southland (1,2). Although AUrora is multiple disease resistant it is not immune to the major disease of cantaloupes. Therefore, stringent control measures, such as crop rotation, seed treatment, and foliar sprays, may be required. The fruit of AUrora are round to oblong in shape. They measure 6 to 7 inches in diameter, with an average weight of 4.19 pounds, table 2. Fruit size will vary at different fertility levels and in different production areas. "Jumbo" size fruit equal to size 9 melons based on the commercial pack may be secured with adequate fertility and irrigation. AUrora fruit are comparable in size to other "Jumbo" melons commonly grown and hauled loose without the use of boxes or crates. Therefore, it should sell well on the open market in competition with other large size melons. TABLE 1. DISEASE INDEX RATING FOR DOWNY MILDEW, POWDERY MILDEW, AND GUMMY STEM BLIGHT, MAIN STATION, AUBURN Disease index' Variety Downy mildew Gummy stem blight 2 Powdery mildew Averae e 2.0 1.0 A Urora ...................................... 1.0 Chilton ...................................... 1.0 1.5 1.0 Edisto 47 .................................. 1.5 5.0 1.5 1.5 1.0 1.0 G ulfcoast ................................... 1.5 M ainstream ............................... 1.5 4.0 1.5 4.0 1.5 Planters Jumbo ......................... 3.5 5.0 3.5 Hales Best Jumbo ..................... Disease index: 0 = no injury, up to 5 = all plants severely damaged. 2 Greenhouse screening tests. 1 1.4 1.2 2.7 1.2 2.3 2.3 4.0 [5] TABLE 2. AVERAGE YIELD, FRUIT WEIGHT, SOLUBLE SOLIDS, ASCORBIC ACID, TASTE TEST, AND RIND FIRMNESS OF CANTALOUPE VARIETIES, RESEARCH CENTER, SHORTER, 1977-83 E. V. SMITH Variety Yield per acre Fruit weight Soluble solids' Ascorbic acid 2 Taste test s Rind firmness 4 Lb Lb. Pct. mg/ 100 gm Lb. /sq. in. AUrora ................. 34,246 4.19 11.90 65.0 7.97 47.47 Chilton ................. 28,570 2.96 12.91 61.3 8.23 72.16 Edisto 47 .......... 23,561 4.37 11.85 80.0 7.41 40.08 Gulfcoast .......... 29,387 3.09 12.14 52.5 8.07 68.41 Mainstream ........... 23,152 3.18 10.56 50.0 8.00 52.87 Planters Jumbo .... 19,665 3.62 10.63 56.0 7.67 40.86 i Total soluble solids determined with a Baush and Lomb refractometer, 0 to 25 percent scale. 2 Ascorbic acid content in milligrams per 100 grams of fruit. 3Taste test ratings are the average scores on fresh chilled fruit: 9 or 10 = highly acceptable, 7 or 8 = acceptable, 5 or 6 = barely acceptable, and below 5 unacceptable. 4 Puncture test performed with Instron 1122 Instrument expressed in pounds per square inch of pressure required to penetrate fruit with 1 cm or 0.16-inch Magnus Taylor Probe. The fruit are slightly ribbed and well covered with a medium net. They mature 70-75 days from planting. The seed cavity is small. The flesh is thick, deep orange (24A) 2, and of excellent flavor and aroma. Taste tests indicated that the edible quality (color, texture, taste) was higher for AUrora than for Planters Jumbo and Edisto 47. Ascorbic acid content was also higher than that of Planters Jumbo and Mainstream, table 2. The fruit is firm and adapted to harvesting and handling. The flesh is firm at the full slip stage; however, it will soften to an excellent condition for dessert quality 3 to 4 days after full slip. AUrora compares favorably with established jumbo type varieties in yielding ability, shipping quality, and edible quality, as indicated by taste and soluble solids, table 2. AVAILABILITY OF SEED An exclusive release of AUrora was made to Asgrow Seed Company, Inc., Kalamazoo, Michigan, for production and marketing of seed. Growers and home gardeners should find high quality seed available from local wholesale and retail outlets for vegetable seed for the 1985 spring planting season. 2 RHS Colour Chart, The Royal Horticulture Society, London, England. [6] LITERATURE CITED (1) JAMISON, F. S., J. M. MONTELARO, and J. D. NORTON. (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) 1962. Florida No. 1 and Florisun. Two New Cantaloupe Varieties for Florida Growers. Univ. of Fla. Agr. Exp. Sta. Cir. S-139-A. NORTON, J. D. 1970. Southland - A Large Cantaloupe for the South. Ala. Agr. Exp. Sta. Leaf. 79. . 1971. Gulfcoast - A Sweet Cantaloupe for the Produce Chain Store Market. Ala. Agr. Exp. Sta. Leaf. 82. . 1972. Chilton - A High Quality Fruit for the Commercial Market. Ala. Agr. Exp. Sta. Leaf. 84. PRASAD, KRISHNA and J. D. NORTON. 1967. Inheritance of Resistance to Mycosphaerella citrullina in Muskmelon. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 91:396-400. SOWELL, GROVER B., Jr., KRISHNA PRASAD, and J. D. NORTON. 1960. Resistance of Cucumis melo Introductions to Mycosphaerella citrullina. Plant Dis. Rept. 50:661-663. [7] ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Grover B. Sowell, Jr., Research Pathologist, USDA Southeastern Regional Plant Introduction Station, Experiment, Georgia, for discovery of resistance to Didymella bryoniae and counseling in screening ,techniques with the disease organisms. Essential assistance ws rendered by H. M. Bryce, Main Station, and J. A. Pitts, C. C. Carlton, and K. C. Short, Chilton Area Horticulture Substation, in increasing seed for grower trials and conducting variety trials. Valuable assistance was rendered by M. H. Hollingsworth, North Alabama Horticulture Substation; E. L. Carden and F. B. Selman, Gulf Coast Substation; and J. G. Starling and H. W. Ivey, Wiregrass Substation, in conducting yield trials. Assistance of growers in conducting production trials is deeply appreciated. The assistance of participants in the Southern Cooperative Cantaloupe Variety Trials is acknowledged. [8] APPENDIX TABLE 1. YIELD OF FRUIT OF CANTALOUPE CULTIVARS, E. V. CENTER, SHORTER, 1977-83 SMITH RESEARCH 1977 Lb. Planters 21,906 Jumbo ....... Edisto 47 ...... Mainstream ..23,978 30,112 AUrora ........ 33,587 Chilton ......... 30,219 Gulfcoast ...... 1978 Lb. 11,789 15,852 20,712 26,538 23,606 1979 Lb. 26,373 32,911 20,938 24,995 Yield/acre 1981 1980 Lb. Lb. 24,758 31,988 - 1982 Lb. 21,386 18,324 21,042 25,426 23,826 22,464 1983 Lb. 31,603 21,122 24,400 41,896 30,060 31,020 Average Lb. 19,665 23,561 23,152 34,246 28,570 29,387 35,119 23,673 36,239 38,256 21,171 25,628 38,678 32,446 37,166 TABLE 2.NUMBER OF FRUIT OF CANTALOUPE CULTIVARS, E. V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER, SHORTER, 1977-84 Cultivar Number of fruit/acre/year 1977 No. Edisto 47 ......Mainstream.. 10,876 1978 No. 3,595 4,697 1979 No. 7,037 7,464 - 1980 No. 6,626 7,255 - 1981 No. 1982 No. 1983 No. 8,432 4,790 7,905 1984 Average No. - No. 5,439 5,452 8,537 Planters 6,624 3,889 Jumbo ....... 6,829 AUrora ........ 11,719 Chilton ......... 9,280 8,791 8,236 Gulfcoast ...... 9,128 5,706 5,054 4,156 8,942 6,363 - 7,305 7,558 8,324 9,747 5,492 7,158 11,321 8,313 10,273 11,229 7,838 11,178 10,488 11,725 8,848 7,826 9,636 8,350 9,591 9,661 TABLE 3. WEIGHT OF FRUIT OF CANTALOUPE CULTIVARS, E. V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER, SHORTER, 1977-84 Cultivar Fruit weight in pounds/year 1977 1978 3.1 4.4 4.4 - 1979 3.7 4.4 - 1980 3.7 4.4 4.2 1981 4.2 4.2 2.9 4.0 1982 3.7 4.4 3.3 4.6 1983 3.7 4.4 3.1 3.7 1984 Average - Planters 3.3 Jumbo ..... Edisto 47 Mainstream .. 2.2 4.4 AUrora ...... - 3.62 4.37 3.18 4.12 4.0 2.9 Chilton ....... Gulfcoast .... 3.1 2.9 2.9 2.9 3.3 3.3 3.5 2.9 3.3 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.87 3.00 TABLE 4. TOTAL SOLUBLE SOLIDS (TSS) OF CANTALOUPE CULTIVARS, E. V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER, SHORTER, 1977-84 Cultivar 1977 Planters Jumbo .....9.8 Edisto 47 Mainstream 9.0 1978 9.4 11.4 9.6 1979 10.7 11.4 - Percent TSS/year 1980 1981 1982 10.3 11.5 - 1983 11.5 12.2 11.6 1984 Average - 12.3 13.3 12.2 10.4 11.3 10.4 10.63 11.85 10.56 11.8 AUrora ...... 12.8 Chilton ....... Gulfcoast .... 12.1 13.4 12.8 11.4 11.0 11.1 12.5 11.4 [9] 13.5 14.8 13.9 10.9 11.9 10.9 12.2 13.6 12.9 12.1 13.3 12.7 11.93 12.99 12.22 TABLE 5. ASCORBIC ACID CONTENT IN MILLIGRAMS PER 100 GRAMS OF FRUIT OF CANTALOUPE CULTIVARS, E. V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER, SHORTER, 1983 Cultivar A mg Planters Jumbo ............ Edisto 47 ............... .......... Mainstream .................. AUrora ........................... Chilton .................. Gulfcoast ......................... 45 80 50 70 70 55 Ascorbic acid//100 g fruit, by replication B C D Average mg mg mg mg 60 80 55 60 60 55 80 80 50 70 65 50 40 80 45 60 50 50 56.0 80.0 50.0 65.0 61.3 52.5 TABLE 6. RESPONSE OF TASTE PANEL TO QUALITY 1 OF CANTALOUPE CULTIVARS, MAIN STATION, AUBURN, 1983 Cultivar Color Texture Flavor quality 2 Planters Jumbo ............... 7.5 7.8 Edisto 47 ......................... 7.3 7.5 Mainstream ................. 7.8 8.0 AUrora ........................... 7.8 8.0 Chilton .............. ......... 8.1 8.2 Gulfcoast ...................... 7.9 8.1 1 Mean scores and expert panel (3-4 panelists) were obtained Numerical scores are as follows: 9 or 10 = highly acceptable, 5 or 6 = barely acceptable, and below 5 = unacceptable. 2 Overall ratings are the means of all the panelists' ratings. 7.7 7.67 7.5 7.41 8.1 8.00 8.0 7.97 8.4 8.23 8.2 8.07 on fresh chilled fruit. 7 or 8 = acceptable, TABLE 7. FLESH COLOR I OF CANTALOUPE CULTIVARS, MAIN STATION, AUBURN, 1983 Cultivar .iFlesh L L a a color b b Planters Jumbo ........................................ 57.42 13.14 24.82 Edisto 47 ................................................... 56.74 13.68 23.87 Mainstream ........... ...................................... ... 57.50 13.36 25.26 A U rora ..................................................... 58.62 13.64 26.06 Chilton ...................................................... 59.48 15.34 26.10 Gulfcoast ................................................... 60.14 14.36 26.14 1 Hunter color difference values standardized to red plaque L = 68.7, a = 23.0, and b = 9.4, where L = total light reflectance, a = red, and b = yellow. TABLE 8. RIND FIRMNESS (PUNCTURE TEST) OF CANTALOUPE CULTIVARS, MAIN STATION, AUBURN, 19831 Cultivar Puncture test results Stem end Blossom end Top Bottom Lb. / in. Lb. /in. Lb. /in. Lb. /in. Average Lb. /sq. in. Planters lumbo .... 39.7 39.7 43.2 39.7 40.86 Edisto 47 .............. 38.8 40.1 43.0 38.4 40.08 Mainstream .......... 49.4 55.1 59.5 47.4 52.87 AUrora ................. 47.6 44.7 50.3 47.2 47.47 Chilton ................. 71.6 67.9 84.2 64.8 72.16 Gulfcoast .............. 69.0 64.6 80.5 59.5 68.41 'Puncture test performed with Instron 1122 Instrument, 0.16-inch Magnus Taylor Probe. [10 ] Alabama's Agricultural Experiment Station System AUBURN UNIVERSITY WXith an ag~ricul-C tiltal resLt( 1-iin it ineiverF\ aj()F st i1 area, Auh urn I n i\ rsitN KI) h feld sc v st crt , ives )ek e In ed tokr(t~ n - in eac h region ini .\l~taliit. LX er\ iti/(2n (tf thLe Sidle hals a J12 stake in this research pr(>graiit inlce and'x'1 ahid ll( )rdcd cotlon vWiaS Ohr ) )i ial ing lt1(.ti 2 anld handling ®o ® 1D ________ fatrn hrilduti S diitjetits the rtly ix iS )istinL IRhuje. [dent'"--" - ® Main Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn. E. V. Smith Research Center, Shorter. Tennessee Valley Substation, Belle Mina. Sand Mountain Substation, Crossville North Alabama Horticulture Substation, Cullman. Upper Coastal Plain Substation, Winfieid. Foresiry Unit, Fayette County. Chilton Area Horticuliure Substation, Clanton. Forestry Unit, Coosa County. Piedmont Substaiion, Camp Hill. Plant Breeding Unit, Tallassee. Foresiry Unit, Autauga County. Prattville Experiment Field, Prattville. Black Belt Substation, Marion Junction. The Turnipseed-ikenberry Place, Union Springs. Lower Coastal Plain Substation, Camden. Forestry Unit, Barbour County. Monroeville Experiment Field, Monroeville. Wiregrass Substation. Headland. Brewton Experiment Field, Brewton. Solon Dixon Forestry Educaiion Center, Covington and Escambia counties. 20. Ornamental Horticulture Substation, Spring Hill. 21. Gult Coast Substation, Fairhope 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13 14. 15. lb. 7. 18. 19.