Articles
Diversity of traditional snake melon (Cucumis melo var. flexuosus L.) landraces cultivated in the Mediterranean basin and its exploitation
Article number
1411_35
Pages
347 – 354
Language
English
Abstract
Snake melon (Cucumis melo subsp. melo L. var. flexuosus (L.) Naudin) is a well-known and traditional vegetable in the Mediterranean region.
Nevertheless, there has been poor interest in assessing snake melon germplasm and consequently its genetic resources have not been widely surveyed before.
Snake melon is preferred to cucumber for the crispiness, the absence of bitterness and easier digestibility of its young fruits in development stage.
In this study, we assessed the bio-morphometric diversity of 24 snake melon landraces previously collected from three different Mediterranean countries: Italy (Europe), Lebanon (Asia) and Tunisia (Africa). We utilized 36 descriptors of the plant.
The data acquired showed the great polymorphism of the landraces analyzed detecting an important phenotypic variability.
The main variability was ascertained for the fruit characters.
The principal component analysis showed high diversity of 62% within the first three components and divided the collection into 3 groups independently of their origin.
In addition, it showed that fruit shape, size, and skin color pattern in addition to the phenological stages, especially days interval from transplanting to the first female flowering and the number of fruits harvested per plant, were the discriminant descriptors among landraces.
An important correlation was showed between root weight and fruit weight, and the number of the fruits harvested per plant with number of root branches.
Other important negative correlation was ascertained among the interval of days from the transplanting to the first flower fruit setting and the plant length and weight, and fruit length and diameter.
Based on the most discriminating traits, the hierarchical clustering grouped the accession in 3 main groups and expresses the diversity present of this crop although it showed some similarities among cultivars coming from different parts of the Mediterranean.
Findings of this study indicate a significant diversity for the Mediterranean snake melon germplasm that must be further conserved and investigated in order to exploit the germplasm analyzed and to improve the use of this ancient crop for diversifying vegetable farming and production.
Nevertheless, there has been poor interest in assessing snake melon germplasm and consequently its genetic resources have not been widely surveyed before.
Snake melon is preferred to cucumber for the crispiness, the absence of bitterness and easier digestibility of its young fruits in development stage.
In this study, we assessed the bio-morphometric diversity of 24 snake melon landraces previously collected from three different Mediterranean countries: Italy (Europe), Lebanon (Asia) and Tunisia (Africa). We utilized 36 descriptors of the plant.
The data acquired showed the great polymorphism of the landraces analyzed detecting an important phenotypic variability.
The main variability was ascertained for the fruit characters.
The principal component analysis showed high diversity of 62% within the first three components and divided the collection into 3 groups independently of their origin.
In addition, it showed that fruit shape, size, and skin color pattern in addition to the phenological stages, especially days interval from transplanting to the first female flowering and the number of fruits harvested per plant, were the discriminant descriptors among landraces.
An important correlation was showed between root weight and fruit weight, and the number of the fruits harvested per plant with number of root branches.
Other important negative correlation was ascertained among the interval of days from the transplanting to the first flower fruit setting and the plant length and weight, and fruit length and diameter.
Based on the most discriminating traits, the hierarchical clustering grouped the accession in 3 main groups and expresses the diversity present of this crop although it showed some similarities among cultivars coming from different parts of the Mediterranean.
Findings of this study indicate a significant diversity for the Mediterranean snake melon germplasm that must be further conserved and investigated in order to exploit the germplasm analyzed and to improve the use of this ancient crop for diversifying vegetable farming and production.
Publication
Authors
N. Al Achkar, L. Chalak, F.G. Rizzo, L. Ciccarello, G. Garcia, S. Treccarichi, F. Branca
Keywords
landraces, Armenian cucumber, morphological descriptors, germplasm, fruit quality
Groups involved
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