3. ORIENTAL PICKLING MELON

4. Introdu
ction
 Botanical name: Cucumis melo var canomon
 Family: Cucurbitaceae
 Chromosome no: 24
 Origin: Asia

5.  It is an annual herbaceous vine.
 Most ancient form of melon domesticated in China.
 It is evolved from wild melon (var agretis) in China (Walters
1989).
 It is traditionally cultivated in India, China, Korea, Japan
and South East Asia.
 It is mentioned in a Chinese text dating back to 560 BC
(Keng 1974)

6. Visual appearance
 Slender fruits, averaging 20-30 cm in length and 8-10 cm in
diameter, and have a cylindrical, elongated shape with rounded
ends.
 Skin is shiny, smooth, thin and pale green with some varieties
bearing faint green- yellow stripes. Flesh is pale green to white
and is crisp, aqueous and firm.
 The fruit encasing many small seeds that are flat, pale, yellow
and bitter. Crunchy with a mild, sweet and subtly sour flavour.
 When cooked, the melon retains its firm and crisp consistency
and had a neutral taste, often absorbing other flavours.

7. Landraces
 1. Malabar cucumber: This is also known as Mangaluru cucumber
(Mangaluru sauthekayi in Kannada) very common in Dakshina Kannada
area. It is also known as Madras cucumber. Fruits are golden yellow.
 2. Kami Vellari or Vellarikka (Malayam): Fruits are golden yellow with
green patches as above case. Not bitter
 3. Dosakai or Dosakaya or yellow cucumber or lemon cucumber (Telugu):
Larger fruits with green patch turning brown when mature. The mature fruit
rind becomes yellow in colour, which means it is ready for harvesting. Flesh
is white used in sambar and pachadi preparations.

9. Nutrition and uses
 Rich in vitamin A, C, E and K
 They have an easy, agreeable flavour
 3.6% protein, 4% fat and 2.5% carbohydrates
 Prevent macular degeneration in the eyes.
 The antioxidant in these seeds can keep blood cholesterol
under check and decrease the risk of Cancer.
 The vitamin C fights cold and flu by boosting immunity
 Minerals like magnesium, phosphorus and potassium that
regulate blood pressure

10. Soil and climate
 It is a warm season crop.
 Grows better in well drained sandy loam soil rich in organic content.
 South West monsoon is mostly preferred in Karnataka and Kerala
regions.
 Minimum temperature of 18◦ C during early growth but optimum
temperature 24 to 27 ◦ C.
 Crop can tolerate low temperature but extreme cold retards the
growth.
 Optimum pH 6 to 6.7 but it can tolerate alkaline soil up to pH 8.0

11. Sowing time
 November to February sown plants show early female
emergence rather than August and September.
 Fruit length and diameter are highest in August sown crop.
 Fruit weight and yield/ vine and seed production are highest
in August (1.15 and 2.99 kg) and September (0.794 & 1.56
kg) sowing.

12. Varieties
Kerala agricultural university has developed 3 cultivars
namely:
 Arunima (accession CAKAU-01)
 Mudicode (accession CMKAU- 02)
 Saubhagya (accession CSKAU-03)

13. Mudicode
 Released by KAU. Average yield: 30.4 t/ ha
 It was selected through the germplasm
collection.
 It is grown in home garden.
 Fruit weighs 1.8-2.5 kg.
 Attractive oval shaped fruits can be harvested
from 55-60 days after sowing and the crop will
last until 79 or 88 days. Spacing 2m X 1.5 m
 seed rate: 500 to 750 g/ ha (Agri correspondent,
2001)

14. Arunima
 Released by KAU.
 It has spreading growth habit with branched stem, vigorous.
 Leaves are broad with hairy veins and petiole.
 Male flowers are produced in clusters and female flowers are
solitary.
 Fruits are large sized long fruits tapering at one end and
attractive with uniform cylindrical shape. The fruits are
bright green with creamy spots when tender and they turn
orange yellow upon ripening. The average fruit weight is 2.3
kg at full maturity.
 The total duration of the crop is 60 days.

15. Saubhagya
 Released by KAU.
 It is a short duration, less vigorous high yielding variety.
 It is less spreading type.
 Maturing in 65-70 days and is suitable for high density
planting.
 Small to medium sized oblong green fruits with light green
stripes, which turn golden yellow on ripening.
 Maturity in 65 days.

16. Seed rate and sowing
 500-750 g/ ha: Seed rate
 Seeds are soaked in water for 24 hours prior to planting for better
germination.
 Soaking seeds in 0.2% Bavistin solution reduces the soil borne
fungus.
 Sow 4 or 5 seeds in a pit at 1-2 cm depth.
 Pre sowing irrigation 3 to 4 days before sowing is beneficial.
 Avoid deeper sowing as it delays germination.
 Seeds germinate within 4-5 days.
 Thinning practices is performed after 2 weeks and only 3 plants/ pit
retained.

17. Spacing
 Prepare the soil to fine tilth by harrowing and ploughing.
 There are two methods pit and trench methods.
 Mudicode (high spreading type) pit of 60 cm diameter and
30-45 cm depth and a spacing of 2x1.5 m (recommended by
KAU)Saubhagya(less spreading type)- closest spacing of 1x
3m( trench method)

18. Nutrient management
 Apply FYM at 20-25 t/ ha as basal. N: P: K = 70:25:25 kg/
ha.
 Nitrogen is applied at 2 split doses at the time of vining and
at flowering.
 For pit 28:10:10 g of NPK
 In the initial stages irrigate the crop at 3-4 days interval.
Irrigate alternative days at flowering and fruiting stages.
Highest fruit yield of 72.4 t/ha was obtained by drip
fertigation.
 Furrow irritation is an ideal method of irrigating but in
water limited areas drip is followed.

19. Intercultural operations
 Thinning is done after 2 weeks of sowing.
 Earthing up is done during raining season.
 Weeding is done at the time of fertilizer application.
 Mulching is done where crops are grown on raised bed.
 The spraying of flowering hormones after they have 6-8 true
leaves increases the number of female flowers.
 The application of gibberellic acid 25-100 ppm increases the
female flowers by 50% and ethrel at the rate of 3-3.5 ml in 10
liter of water increase femaleness.

20. Training
 Inter space is mulched with dry coconut fronds and the vines
are allowed to trail on the dry coconut fronds.
 The orange colour of fruit indicates that the fruit is over ripe
and is excellent for extracting the seeds.
 The Special feature that the fruits can be stored up to 8-10
months without losing their freshness.
 They can be stored for many weeks by hanging them from
the ceiling firmly bound by thin coconut fiber ropes.
 For long distance transporting green fruits are harvested.

21. Harvesting
 First harvesting of fruits can be done 45-55 days after
sowing.
 Harvesting can be done only after 10 days (at least) of
insectide or fungicide application.
 For pickling and salad it is harvested immature (10 days
after fruit set) and for cooking purposes(4 weeks after fruit
set), it is harvest fully mature. Allowing old fruits remain in
the vein, it reduces young fruit production.
 Avoid blushing and crushing it reduces keeping quality.
 Average yield 10-12t/ha and seed yield 7-10 kg/ha

22. Diseases
1. Downey mildew: Pseudopernpspora cubensis
 Symptoms: yellow spots on the upper surface and water soaked fungal
spots on the lower surface of the leaves. Chlorotic specks can be seen on
the upper surface of the leaves severe during rainy season.
 Management: Spraying Mancozeb 0.2% is useful.
2. Powdery mildew: Erysiphe cichoracearum
 Symptoms: Small round whitish spots on the leaves and stem. The spots
enlarge and coalesce rapidly and white powdery mass appears on the
upper leaf surface. Heavily infested leaves become yellow and later
become dry and brown. Extensive premature defoliation of the older
leaves will result in yield reduction.
 Management: spray dinocarp 0.05%. Less incidence in Mysore local
(37.71%), Sirsi local (37.99%) and Thirthahalli local.

23. Pests
Fruit fly: Bactocera cucurbitae
 Fruit fly maggots feed on the internal tissue and cause premature
fruit drop.
 Yellowing and rotting of fruits.
Management:
 Apply carbaryl 10% DP in the pits before sowing the seeds to
destroy the pupae.
 Cover the fruits with polythene or paper cover to avoid egg laying
on fruits.
 Breaking of soil to expose pulse and burying the soil in pits by dried
leaves are also effective.
 Using of banana fruit trap is effective.