December 2021 - 36

MELONS
Specialty melon variety offers high tunnel option
By Dean Peterson
VGN Correspondent
The effort to find a rotation crop in
high tunnels with the income potential
of tomatoes continues and the price
incentive of personal-sized melons
grown for the early market may be an
option. That's the conclusion of new
research being conducted at Iowa State
University (ISU).
ISU researchers have evaluated 10
cultivars of the specialty melons that grew
to sizes of one to three pounds. The list
included Anna's Charentais, Divergent,
Eden's Gem, Escorial, Honey Orange,
Pixie, Savor, Snow Leopard, Sugar Cube
and Tasty Bites.
Besides having a small size, the
cultivars have a unique appearance.
Eden's Gem has green flesh. Snow
Leopard's is almost white. Savor looks
almost like a watermelon on the outside.
The others' flesh ranges from light orange
to a darker, more
traditional orange.
Only shorter
season cultivars
were considered
with the longest
maturity about
80 days. The idea
was to combine
shorter-maturity
melons with
early planting in a
high tunnel. Being the first to market
would add a second financial incentive
to the higher prices already received for
MORIAH
BILENKY
specialty melons.
" The specialty melons are exceptionally
sweet smelling and sweet tasting, " said
Moriah Bilenky, an ISU researcher in the
study and now a postdoctoral researcher
" The vines could have been on a
seven-foot trellis, " Bilenky said. " You're
going to have better results with taller
trellises. "
Cucumber beetles and the bacterial
blight they bring was an issue.
Researchers had started with OMRIapproved
insecticides in an attempt at
organic production which would add
another element of value but soon moved
to synthetic products because of beetle
numbers.
The ultimate goal of a more varied
rotation is a more ecologically sound
Ajay Nair, shown at the Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station, travels the
state to help Iowa's growers improve their operations. Photo: Christopher Gannon
at Pennsylvania State University. " We
wanted to evaluate some unique melons
that farmers could bring to market early
and attract people to their stands. "
The research process
The 10 cultivars were seeded in plug
trays in late March. The plants were
transplanted into raised, black plastic
mulch beds in a high tunnel in late April.
Harvesting began mid-July and continued
through mid-August.
Across all cultivars, the average number
of fruits harvested from five plants
ranged from 11 to 27. The number of
marketable fruit ranged from seven to
21. The average weight of the marketable
fruit ranged from slightly more than one
pound to slightly more than three.
Researchers also evaluated the quality
factors of average fruit length and width,
average seed cavity length and width, and
Brix scores.
The three melons that performed the
best were Snow Leopard, Sugar Cube and
Tasty Bites. They averaged 21 to 26 fruits
and 17 to 21 marketable fruit per five
plants. The average weight of marketable
fruit ranged from slightly less to slightly
more than two pounds.
Overall, the research showed specialty
melons grown in high tunnels for the
early market is a viable concept.
" We're happy with the results, but it'd be
good to repeat the work, " Bilenky said.
As an example, Tasty Bites was the
longest to maturity cultivar in the study,
and the research may not have gotten the
best measurement of its potential.
Handling and storage qualities also
need to be evaluated.
" Growers will want to know how well
the melons will store once they're picked, "
Bilenky said.
Field versus tunnels
As expected, cultivar performance in
the field will differ from in a high tunnel.
Snow Leopard's performance was the
best in the high tunnels, but some Iowa
growers have reported better results with
Sugar Cube in the field, Bilenky said.
The trellises in the study were five-feet
tall, and that simply wasn't tall enough.
The vines grew over the tops of the trellises
and became crowded with reduced air
movement around the plants. Eventually,
some vines were on the ground.
system in high tunnels.
" That's the primary objective of a
good rotation, " said Ajay Nair, associate
professor in ISU's Department of
Horticulture and lead researcher in the
specialty melon study.
Rotating families of vegetables - to
cucurbits like melons and away from
Solanaceae crops like tomatoes - breaks
up the disease cycle. It rotates heavy
feeding and light feeding crops and crops
with deeper and shallower root systems
and provides other long term benefits.
An early maturing crop like specialty
melons also opens a window in the fall
for another short-season vegetable or a
cover crop.
" With tomatoes, you're only growing
one crop all year, " Nair said. " With
melons, there's the possibility of a fall
crop. It could be a leafy green such
as Romaine lettuce. There are a lot of
options. Two crops and the benefit
of rotation may yield a value up near
tomatoes. "
" You want the most value possible
because you're replacing a high value
crop in tomatoes, " Bilenky said. " Growers
aren't giving up a high tunnel space for a
rotation that in the long term isn't going
to get them as much value. "
" Tomatoes are profitable and are a good
use of space in a high tunnel, " Bilenky said.
The other crops in the rotation must
ultimately create a production system that
is as profitable. VGN
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December 2021

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