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Hairy Melon

This web page was produced by the Centre for Plant and Water Science of CQUniversity, and funded by RIRDC.

WARNING: The information on this page has been gathered from   both published and unpublished material, and contains comments and   opinions from people working in the field. CQUniversity cannot guarantee   all the information, and we stress that it is necessary to CHECK WITH   THE SOURCE of the information, before using it to make a business   decision. Please read our disclaimer.

Hairy melon links

Species: Benincasa hispida var chien-gua

Family: Cucurbitaceae

Crop status: Established

Varieties

Different cultivars are usually used for production of mature and immature fruit (Yang and Walters 1992). See Seedquest for a list of seed companies. Seed used around Darwin is primarily open pollinated.

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Production

Agronomic requirements are essentially the same as for winter melon   (Larkcom 1991), since the two crops are variations of the same species.

Grown commercially in NSW, NT and Qld (Lee 1995).

pH: 6.5 (Peter McLaughlin 1998, pers. comm.).

Germination: Seeds germinate in 3-5 days when placed on a hot bed at 28°C in wet paper (Peter McLaughlin 1998, pers. comm.).

Transplanting: It may be necessary to grow the first plants of the season in a hot bed   to ensure enough warmth for immediate germination, and then transplant   them at the 4-6 leaf stage (Peter McLaughlin 1999, pers. comm.).

Trellises: Grown on 2 m high overhead trellises. Climbers should be trained up the vertical supports (Lim 1998).

Plant density: Growers in the Northern Territory grow at 60-80 cm between plants and 1.5 m between rows (Lim 1998).

Water: Overhead irrigation for paddock sowing, T-tape or micro-jets for trellising (Peter McLaughlin 1998, pers. comm.).

Fertilise until fruit set (chicken manure and Nitrophoska) (Peter McLaughlin 1998, pers. comm.).

Harvest: Picked   immature, about 3-4 weeks after fruit set (Lim 1998). Harvest at 15-25 x   5-8 cm (Peter McLaughlin 1998, pers. comm.) or 10-12 cm long (Cantwell   et al. 1996) when still covered in silky hairs (Larkcom 1991).

Yield: 15 t/ha in Florida (Lamberts 1992).

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Postharvest

Handling: The   hairy surface should not be washed off unless it needs cleaning. Pack   into a 23 litre Styrofoam ventilated tray (Peter McLaughlin 1998, pers.   comm.).

Temperature: Store at 10-12.5ºC. Fruit is susceptible to chilling injury (Cantwell et   al. 1996). Symptoms of chilling injury include widely distributed tiny   colourless sunken spots, which become larger over time, followed by a   darkening of external and internal tissue, watery breakdown and   increased decay after transfer to 15ºC (Zong et al. 1992).

Humidity: 85-90%   relative humidity. Fruit is quite resistant to water loss (Cantwell et   al. 1996). Dehydrated fruit appears spongy (Zong et al. 1992).

Shelf life: 10-14   days. Melons can adopt an unpleasant acidic flavour during storage, and   are susceptible to physical damage (Cantwell et al. 1996). Common   defects include small brown pits, seed development and flavour changes   toward sourness (Zong et al. 1992).

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  Figure   1: High and low prices of Hairy melon at Flemington Markets during 1996   (green), 1997 (blue) and the first half of 1998 (red), recorded on a   half monthly basis (Flemington Market Reporting Service, NSW   Agriculture).

Quality assessment

Fruit should have a fresh appearance with uniform colour and size,   and low seed development. Small, solid green hairy melons are the best.   Younger fruit is more firm (Cantwell et al. 1996).

Pests / Diseases

Virtually none in northern NSW (Peter McLaughlin 1998, pers. comm.).   Potential viruses are listed at Plant viruses online (Brunt et al.   1996).

Markets

(click here for exchange rates).

Sydney / Melbourne prices $1.60 - $2.00/kg in Jan - Mar, but price   falls in May-June to $1.00/kg (Peter McLaughlin 1999, pers. comm.).   Northern Territory producers receive between $2.00 and $3.50/kg (Lim   1998). Melbourne is supplied by Victorian producers over the summer   period (Chew and Morgan 1996). Development potential for hairy gourd was   rated as low due to the minimal amount of information available   (Vinning 1995).

The Chinese use these gourds for a range of medicinal purposes (see Yang and Walters 1992).

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  References

Brunt, A.A., Crabtree, K., Dallwitz, M.J., Gibbs, A.J., Watson, L.   and Zurcher, E.J. (eds.) (1996 onwards). `Plant Viruses Online:   Descriptions and Lists from the VIDE Database. Version: 16th January   1997.' (URL http://biology.anu.edu.au/Groups/MES/vide).

Cantwell, M., X. Nie, R. J. Zong and M. Yamaguchi (1996). Asian   vegetables: Selected fruit and leafy types. Progress in new crops. Ed.:   Janick, J. Arlington, VA, ASHS Press: 488-495.

Chew, M. and W. Morgan (1996). Melbourne retail Asian vegetable survey. Melbourne, Agriculture Victoria 143 pp.

Lamberts, M. (1992). Production trends for specialty Asian vegetables in Dade County, Florida. Acta Horticulturae 318: 79-85.

Larkcom, J. (1991). Oriental vegetables: the complete guide for garden and kitchen. London, John Murray 232 pp.

Lee, B. (1995). Audit of the Australian Asian vegetables industry.   RIRDC Research Paper No. 95/13. Canberra, Rural Industries Research and   Development Corporation 97 pp.

Lim, T. K. (1998). Loofahs, gourds, melons and snake beans. The New   Rural Industries. Ed.: K. W. Hyde. Canberra, Rural Industries Research   and Development Corporation: 212-218.

Vinning, G. (1995). Market Compendium of Asian Vegetables. RIRDC   Research Paper No. 95/12. Canberra, Rural Industries Research and   Development Corporation 386 pp.

Yang, S. L. and T. W. Walters (1992). Ethnobotany and the economic   role of the Cucurbitaceae of China. Economic Botany 46: 349-367.

Zong, R. J., Cantwell, M., Morris, L. and Rubatzky, V. (1992).   Postharvest studies on four fruit-type Chinese vegetables. Acta   Horticulturae 318: 345-354.