19" BETTER FRUIT Page 31 



BREEDING AND DEVELOPMENT OF CANTALOUPE 



BY P. K. BLINN, EXPERIMENT STATION, FORT COLLINS, COLORADO 



THE cantaloupe industry has made 

 its principal development since the 

 introduction of the Netted Gem 

 variety, for due to its small uniform size 

 and good carrying quality the growth of 

 the industry has been possible. 



It was not until the excellent quality of 

 the cantaloupes produced on irrigated 

 land, under dry climatic conditions, was 

 realized that the industry became very 

 prominent. 



The first cantaloupes on the Eastern 

 markets from the arid region were those 

 shipped from Rocky Ford, Colorado, in 

 1896. Their superior flavor was an inno- 

 vation to the Eastern melon trade; the 

 contrast in quality was so striking as 

 compared to the Eastern and Southern 

 products that the Rocky Fords at once 

 became regarded as a new variety, and 

 under that popular symbol have won a 

 national reputation. Each year thou- 

 sands of cars of cantaloupes are mar- 

 keted as genuine Rocky Fords, but from 

 widely distant fields; those from the 

 Southern states appearing on the markets 

 early in May, and continuing the supply 

 from various states until late in October. 



The phenomenal growth of the indus- 

 try, and the great demand, have estab- 

 lished the cantaloupe as one of the favor- 

 ite fruits of the American table. If the 

 quality could always be assured there is 

 hardly a fruit that could rival it in popu- 

 larity or price. 



Some of the causes that lead to poor 

 quality are: Unfavorable climatic condi- 

 tions, plant diseases, insect injuries, glut- 

 ted markets and the unavoidable delays 

 in transportation, many of which are 

 beyond any apparent means of control. 

 Yet when we consider what has been 



accomplished by plant breeding in other 

 lines it does not seem impossible that 

 there could be developed a disease-resist- 

 ant cantaloupe that would possess such 

 superior qualities as to enable it to 

 endure adverse conditions and still reach 

 the markets in better state and with 

 higher flavor than any we now possess. 

 To this end cantaloupe breeding becomes 

 an important feature of the industry, for 

 at best the crop is a hazardous one, due 

 to the above named influences, and until 

 recently careful seed selection has been 

 generally neglected. 



The general growth of the industry has 

 created a large demand for cantaloupe 

 seed, and, naturally. Rocky Ford has 

 been an important source of supply. It 

 seems that it is more than the notoriety 

 of the name that gives an intrinsic value 

 to the seed produced at this point, for 

 the cantaloupe growers of California and 

 the Southern states look to Rocky Ford 

 each year for their supply of seed. They 

 unanimously concede that they can fully 

 mature their melons a week to ten days 

 earlier and be assured of more uniform 

 results in regard to size and quality when 

 they plant the Colorado grown seed 

 than if they use the same strain after it- 

 has been grown native with them a year 

 or so. It is a good instance of the 

 change in plants that environments may 

 sometimes produce, and how these varia- 

 tions may be transmitted to a degree 

 when the plants are grown under other, 

 conditions. The effects of altitude and 

 latitude have long been regarded as an 

 influence that hastens maturity in plants 

 when their seed are grown in lower, or 

 Southern regions. It is also a notable 

 fact that grains produced in the dry 



climatic conditions of Colorado are much 

 heavier per bushel and are superior in 

 quality to that grown in humid sections, 

 where the rainfall is excessive. It is evi- 

 dent that where the moisture is con- 

 trolled and the soil and weather condi- 

 tions will develop the fine flavor and 

 qualities found in the Rocky Ford can- 

 taloupe that same conditions will, in a 

 measure, lend an influence to mature the 

 seed with superior germinating power, 

 vigor of growth and strong inherent 

 tendencies over that produced in less 

 favored localities. This would indicate 

 that points in Colorado are destined to 

 continue as superior cantaloupe seed 

 growing centers, provided the growers 

 will resort to the proper methods of 

 seed breeding that will insure improve- 

 ment of the cantaloupe in all its many 

 possibilities. 



Those familiar with the subject realize 

 that a large amount of the seed that has 

 been saved in the past was not choice 

 selected seed, for much of it is saved 

 from cantaloupes that were unmarketable 

 for some reason, or it was saved late in 

 the season, from immature melons, after 

 frost has destroyed the vines. Improve- 

 ment under such conditions would hardly 

 be expected, and deterioration would be 

 almost inevitable. However, there are 

 growers who have been interested in pro- 

 ducing choice cantaloupe seed, but even 

 at best their system of selection has been 

 too indefinite and incomplete to insure 

 the best results. The plan of most grow- 

 ers in selecting seed for their own plant- 

 ing is to lay aside the choicest specimens 

 from the piles as they are gathered for 

 market. These may be further graded 

 before they are finally saved for seed, 

 which would seem that the system pos- 

 sessed some merit, yet it is quite analo- 

 gous to the use of the fanning mill for 

 developing improved grain, or the selec- 

 tion of seed corn from the crib to better 

 the corn crop. The selection is incom- 

 plete, for the seed selected from an indis- 

 criminate pile does not take into con- 

 sideration the many inherent tendencies 

 of the plant from which it was produced, 

 no matter how perfect the specimens 

 may chance to be. Another serious weak- 

 ness is the lack of adherence to a definite 

 outline of the qualities that should be 

 embodied in a perfect cantaloupe. 



The difl^erent ideals of selection have 

 given rise to numerous strains of the 

 Rocky Ford cantaloupes which are simply 

 the Netted Gem variety, developed under 

 different conceptions of type and quality. 

 There may be the element of cross- 

 fertilization in the origin of some of the 

 strains, yet the foundation stock of all 

 was originally the same strain, and the 

 general characteristics of this variety has 

 constituted the principal lines that have 

 been considered in the selection of the 

 Rocky Ford seed. For example, the uni- 

 formity of size and the netting are points 

 that have been considered, and are well 

 developed in several strains; yet equally 

 essential are the inherent traits of the 

 plant and the quality of the fruit. For 

 example, early prolific production and 



PLATE II— (1) BUD TWENTY-FOUR HOURS BEFORE OPENING. (2) BUD EMAS- 

 CULATED. (.3) BLOOM JUST OPENED. (4) CALYX AND CAROLLA REMOVED, 

 SHOWING THREE ANTHERS ATTACHED. (.5) SET DEVELOPING 



