Effects of Maturity at Harvest, Storage Temperature, and Cultivar on Muskmelon Quality

Six cultivars of cantaloupe-type muskmelon ( Cucumis melo L.), grown in central Pennsylvania, were harvested at the yellow full-slip, green full-slip, or half-slip stages of maturity and evaluated for quality after storage at 0° or 4.5°C. Fully ripe (yellow full-slip) melons had excellent appearance and flavor at harvest, but they deteriorated rapidly in storage, as shown by loss of flavor and ascorbic acid, development of stem-end cracks and decay, and water-soaking of the flesh. Of the 3 maturity stages, green full-slip melons had the highest soluble solids and ascorbic acid content and excellent flavor at harvest, and maintained flavor and appearance best in storage. Halfslip melons maintained a good appearance during storage, but were slightly inferior in flavor to full-slip melons. No evidence of chilling injury was found for melons harvested at any of the maturity stages and stored up to 2 weeks at 0° plus 1 day at 13°; in fact, melons stored at 0° were superior to those stored at 4.5° because less decay was evident.