Research develops yellow melon adapted to the São Francisco Valley

BRS Anton was developed for the São Francisco Valley region, but it also adapts to traditional melon cultivation centers in the Northeast

23.11.2021 | 14:02 (UTC -3)
Embrapa
BRS Anton was developed for the São Francisco Valley region, but it is also adapted to traditional melon cultivation centers in the Northeast. - Photo: Gislene Alencar
BRS Anton was developed for the São Francisco Valley region, but it is also adapted to traditional melon cultivation centers in the Northeast. - Photo: Gislene Alencar

Brazilian public research developed a hybrid yellow melon cultivar recommended for planting in the environmental conditions of the São Francisco Valley region, which concentrates small and medium-sized rural producers. The BRS Anton melon was developed within the scope of Embrapa's melon genetic improvement program and is positioned as an option for this niche of producers, contributing to the competitiveness and sustainability of the crop in the locations bordering the river.

The new cultivar has sweet fruits, precocity, good productivity and resistance to two races of the powdery mildew fungus that attacks the plant. It is resistant to damage caused during transport and also to cold, which makes it easier to refrigerate for export.

“The ideal conditions for melon production are hot days, with high light, alternating with nights with mild temperatures. Therefore, in all regions of the country, at least at some time of the year, it is possible to grow melons. It is clear that, as you move from North to South, the number of months favorable to cultivation decreases. In the Northeast, the prevailing climatic conditions make it possible to grow melons practically every month of the year”, says agronomist Valter Rodrigues Oliveira, researcher at Embrapa Hortaliças (DF).

Although the indication for planting BRS Anton melon is for the Vale do São Francisco region, the cultivar also shows good adaptation in traditional melon cultivation centers in the Northeast, such as Vale do Açu, in Rio Grande do Norte, and the region of Baixo Jaguaribe, in Ceará. “It is natural for multinational seed companies to concentrate the development and validation of new cultivars in Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará, which focus on melon production for export, a very profitable business. The positioning of the BRS Anton melon for the São Francisco Valley is important because it will give producers in the region a new option to cultivate with characteristics that adapt very well to the local production system, adding more value and competitiveness to this niche”, ponders Oliveira .

High productivity and genetic resistance

The BRS Anton yellow melon is a national technology, adapted to Brazilian conditions and more suitable for the production systems adopted in the country. In the validation stage in commercial production areas, the cultivar obtained a productive potential of 35 tons per hectare, a value well above the national average melon productivity, currently estimated at 25 t/ha.

As with most vegetable species, the melon tree is under great pressure from pests and diseases, especially in the Northeast, where intensive cultivation and hot weather intensify the presence of phytosanitary problems. Among the most problematic melon diseases is powdery mildew, caused by a fungus that is widely spread across the country.

“When powdery mildew affects the melon tree with high severity, the leaves dry and the fruits are exposed, causing what we call scald, that is, the burning of the fruit due to exposure to direct solar radiation, affecting the productivity of the plant and the quality of the seeds. fruits, which are unsuitable for commercialization”, explains the researcher, emphasizing the importance of the plant having genetic resistance to the disease, as is the case with the BRS Anton melon. The new cultivar is resistant to races 1 and 2 of powdery mildew, which predominate in the country's main melon production regions.

Precocity is another valuable attribute of the BRS Anton melon, which has a cultivation cycle of around 64 days from seedling transplantation. Early cultivars spend less time in the field, therefore, they are less exposed to adverse environmental conditions and less exposed to diseases and pests. According to Oliveira, in most cases, precocity has a direct effect on reducing production costs and, therefore, the search for precocity is a constant in the genetic improvement of melon plants. However, it must always be associated with high yield and quality. There is no point in being early if it does not deliver productivity and good quality fruits.

Sweet, cold-tolerant fruits

The rusticity of the plant, the long post-harvest life and the fruit's resistance to transportation are the characteristics of the yellow melon that have made it the national market leader since it began to be cultivated in the country. These attributes are also well evident in the BRS Anton melon.

The researchers found that the main difference of the new cultivar is the quality of the fruits from the point of view of post-harvest resistance, as the greater roughness and thickness of the skin minimize external damage that alters the sensorial quality of the pulp.

“The rough skin and thick, very firm pulp give BRS Anton fruits the necessary qualities to be produced in the main melon production hubs in the Northeast, such as the São Francisco Valley, and transported to the most distant consumer centers, in Center-South of Brazil, with minimal loss of quality”, ponders Oliveira.

Another important attribute of the new cultivar is its tolerance to transportation and storage at low temperatures. Tests indicated that BRS Anton melon fruits did not present any external or internal injury, caused by cold, when stored at temperatures above 8ºC.

Cold tolerance is an important attribute for reaching more distant consumer markets, which gives the cultivar double aptitude, as it can also be targeted for export. “The tests proved that it can, indeed, be considered a melon with dual aptitude. With small adjustments in crop management, especially in the spacing between plants, it is possible to adapt the size of fruits for one market or another”, comments the researcher. In the case of the Brazilian market, the consumption trend has shown a preference for smaller fruits, due to families with fewer members and consumers who wish to avoid waste.

In addition to the size of the fruits, at the top of consumer preference are the sweetest melons and, in this regard, the BRS Anton melon delivers a lot of quality. According to Oliveira, the soluble solids content, which is the measure normally used to evaluate the degree of sweetness of fruits, easily reaches 13 °Brix, an indication of very sweet fruits.

The quality of melon fruits is also closely associated with the exact point of ripeness at the time of harvest, which ensures a more pronounced aroma and sweeter flavor. The BRS Anton melon production cycle, from planting to harvest, is around 64 days for the São Francisco Valley region. When this point is reached, the fruits have a uniform yellow color across the entire surface, a condition in which there is the ideal combination of flavor and pulp consistency, which makes the fruit very pleasant to the taste.

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