Floral biology studies in wild melon  [Cucumis melo L. ssp. agrestis (Naudin) Pangalo var. agrestis Naudin]

G Chakravarthi Kalyan; M G Vasant; G Bhuvaneshwari; B B Patil; G Raghavendra; T H Shankarappa

doi:10.24154/jhs.v18i2.2051

Authors

G Chakravarthi Kalyan College of Horticulture, UHS Campus Bengaluru - 560065, Karnataka, India
M G Vasant College of Horticulture, UHS Campus Bengaluru - 560065, Karnataka, India
G Bhuvaneshwari College of Horticulture, UHS Campus Bengaluru - 560065, Karnataka, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9675-4127
B B Patil College of Horticulture, UHS Campus Bengaluru - 560065, Karnataka, India
G Raghavendra College of Horticulture, UHS Campus Bengaluru - 560065, Karnataka, India
T H Shankarappa College of Horticulture, UHS Campus Bengaluru - 560065, Karnataka, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24154/jhs.v18i2.2051

Keywords:

Anthesis, floral biology, phenology, pollen viability, wild melon

Abstract

Studies on floral morphology, phenology and biology of wild melon revealed that the ratio of staminate and pistillate flowers was 3.40:1. The longevity of the male flowers were between 5 and 6 days, whereas, female flowers between 6 and 7 days. Anthesis was observed from 4.00 am to 10.00 am, while, the anther dehiscence started from 5.00 am which was continued to 7.00 am. The peak anthesis was observed from 8.00 am to 9.00 am and anther dehiscence from 6.00 am to 6.30 am. Freshly opened flowers showed pollen viability up to 98.35%, decreased upon closure and crashed to 17.48% in 3 days. Pollen germination was occurred after 15 minutes of incubation and continued up to 24 h of incubation. The stigma receptivity lasts from one to two days of anthesis. Major pollinator of wild melons observed was honey bee, mostly visited between 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

M G Vasant, College of Horticulture, UHS Campus Bengaluru - 560065, Karnataka, India

Professor
Department of Vegetable Science
G Bhuvaneshwari, College of Horticulture, UHS Campus Bengaluru - 560065, Karnataka, India

Professor

Department of Post Harvest management
B B Patil, College of Horticulture, UHS Campus Bengaluru - 560065, Karnataka, India

Assistant Professor

Department of entomology
G Raghavendra, College of Horticulture, UHS Campus Bengaluru - 560065, Karnataka, India

Assistant professor

Department of Molicular Biology

References

Agbagwa, I. O., Ndukwu, B. C., & Mensah, S. I. (2007). Floral biology, breeding system and pollination ecology of Cucurbita moschata (Cucurbitaceae) from parts of the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Turkish Journal of Botany, 31, 451–458. https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/botany/vol31/iss5/4

Anonymous. (2019). Package of practice, University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot, p. 109.

Bassani, M., Pacini, E., & Franchi, G. (1994). Humidity stress responses in pollen of anemophilous and entomophilous species. Grana, 33, 146-150. https://doi.org/10.1080/00173139409428991

Brewbaker, J. L., & Kwack, B. H. (1963). The essential role of calcium ion in pollen germination and pollen tube growth. American Journal of Botany, 50(9), 859-865. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2439772

Chakravarty, H. L. (1982). Fascicles of the Flora of India, Cucurbitaceae. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta, 11, 1-136.

Deakin, J. R., Bohn, C. W., & Whitaker, T. W. (1971). Interspecific hybridisation in Cucumis. Economic Botany, 25, 195-211.

Delaplane, K. S., & Mayer, D. F. (2000). Crop pollination by bees. Cambridge, U.K: CABI, p. 344. doi:10.1002/mmnz.20020780120

Deyto, R. C., & Cervancia, C. R. (2009). Floral biology and pollination of Ampalaya (Momordica charantia L.). Philippine Agricultural Scientist, 92(1), 8-18.

Dhall, R. D., Hundal, J. S., & Saxena, A. (2011). Floral biology studies in Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.). Vegetable Science, 38(2), 221-224.

Ekeke, C., Ogazie, C. A., & Agbagwa, I. O. (2018). Breeding biology and effect of pollinators on the fruit characteristics of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), Cucurbitaceae. Nigerian Journal of Botany, 31(2), 325-344. https://doi.org/10.24297/jaa.v11i.8840

Goulson, D. (1999). Foraging strategies of insects for gathering nectar and pollen, and implications for plant ecology and evolution. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 2(2), 185-209. doi:10.1078/1433-8319-00070

IPGRI (2003). Descriptors for melon (Cucumis melo L.). International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, ISBN 92-9043-597-7. Rome http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org.

Kiill, L. H. P., de Edsângela, A. F., de Siqueira, K. M. M., de Ribeiro, M. F., & da Silva, E. M. S. (2016). Evaluation of floral characteristics of melon hybrids (Cucumis melo L.) in pollinator attractiveness. Revista Brasiliera de Fruticticultura, 38(2), 531. doi:10.1590/0100-29452016531

Kouonon, L. C., Jaquemartt, A. L., Zoro Bi, A. I., Bertin, P., Baudoin J. P., & Dje, Y. (2009). Reproductive biology of the andromonoecious Cucumis melo subsp. Agrestis (Cucurbitaceae). Annals of Botany, 104 (6), 1129–1139. doi:10.1093/aob/mcp196

Marbaniang, E.J., Venugopal, N., Verma, S., Raina, R., Khajuria, A., & Gautam, K. (2018). Floral biology and embryological studies are important for conservation of threatened plants having reproductive bottlenecks: a case study of Illicium griffithii Hook. f. & Thomson. Current Science, 114(3), 576-587. doi: 10.18520/cs/v114/i03/576-587

Naik, A., Akhtar, S., Thapa, U., Chattopadhyay, A., & Hazra, P. (2013). Floral biology and interspecific and intergeneric crossability of teasle gourd. International Journal of Vegetable Sciences, 19(3), 263-273. doi:10.1080/19315260.2012.721059

Pandey, A., Ranjan, P., Ahlawat, S. P., Bharadwaj, R., Dhariwal, O. P., Singh, P. K., Malav, P. K., Harish, G. D., Prabhu, P., & Agrawal, A. (2021). Studies on fruit morphology, nutritional and floral diversity in less-known melons (Cucumis melo L.) of India. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 68(4), 1453-1470. doi:10.1007/s10722-020-01075-3

Pitrat, M. (2017). Melon genetic resources: phenotypic diversity and horticultural taxonomy. In: Grumet R, Katzir N (eds.) Genetics and genomics of the cucurbitaceae. Springer, New York, pp. 25–60. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-49332-9

Revanasidda, & Belavadi, V.V. (2019). Floral biology and pollination in Cucumis melo L., A tropical andromonoecious cucurbit. Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology, 22(1), 215-225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aspen.2019.01.001

Srivastava, U., Mahajan, R. K., Gangopadhyay, K. K., Singh, M., & Dhillon, B. S. (2001). Minimal descriptors of agri-horticultural crops, part II: vegetable crops. NBPGR, New Delhi, pp. 247–251.

Tschoeke, P. H., Oliveira, E. E., Dalcin, M. S., Silveira-Tschoeke, M.C.A.C. & Santos, G. R. (2015). Diversity and flower-visiting rates of bee species as potential pollinators of melon (Cucumis melo L.) in the Brazilian Cerrado. Scientia Horticulturae, 186, 207–216. doi:10.1016/j.scienta.2015.02.027

Zaman, M. R. (2006). Pollen germination, viability and tube growth in fourteen cultivated and wild species of cucurbit grown in Bangladesh. Journal of Life and Earth Science, 1(2), 1-7.