Ecological testing of new melon varieties in Crimea

Relevance. Industrial production of melons is mainly concentrated in the South-East of Russia due to climatic resources. At present, special attention among producers is paid to expanding the assortment of melon crops in order to meet the demand for all tastes. In order to reduce production risks from the impact of climatic conditions of the growing area, it is necessary to conduct environmental trials to expand the area of distribution of new varieties. Purpose of work: to obtain a reliable assessment of the main indicators of new melon varieties in the conditions of the foothill zone of the Crimea. Material and methodology. To solve this problem in the department of breeding and seed production of vegetable and melon crops FSBSI “Research Institute of Agriculture of Crimea" located in the village of Ukromnoye, Simferopol district, during 2023 – 2024, conducted research on testing three new varieties of melon selection Bykovskaya Melon Breeding Experimental Station is a branch of the FSBSI "Federal Scientific Center of Vegetable Growing". The experiments were conducted according to the Methodological Guidelines for breeding melon crops, Methodology of field experiment in vegetable growing . Results. Оn average for 2 years, the advantage of Harmony variety in yield and average weight of one fruit over local variety Nasoloda was revealed. The maximum values of marketable fruit yield corresponded to Harmony variety, the difference with the control was 37.4 %. The average weight of marketable fruit of the studied varieties varied from 1.6 to 4.4 kg, the greatest weight was characterized by fruits of Harmony variety, the difference with the control was 36.8%. In terms of biochemical properties of fruit pulp, the variety Cassandra stood out. The excess in the content of total sugars was 22.5 %, reducing sugars – 36.7 %. All three varieties surpassed Nasoloda in resistance to the most widespread diseases. Conclusion. Thus, two varieties can be recommended for production in our region according to the complex of main features: Harmony and Cassandra.