MELON CULTIVARS EVALUATION FOR ORGANIC HORTICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN EXTREMADURA

The correct selection of the cultivar is a fundamental principle in organic production systems, in order to get a good adaptation and reduce the use of external inputs. So that, enough biodiversity is available to provide the market with horti-cultural crop cultivars selected and developed under organic cultivation management. As part of a larger project, where several species have been evaluated on farm using participatory evaluation methodologies, this survey shows the first year grown results of 17 melon cultivars grown under open field conditions with an intermediate production cycle in the local area of La Jara del Romeral, province of Caceres, in the region of Extremadura located at the west of Spain. Cultivar groups evaluated include ‘Piel de Sapo’, ‘Yellow’, ‘Rochet’ and ‘Hilo carrete’ types of commercial and traditional cultivars, some of them coming from several Spanish Gene Banks. In that case, characterization according to Biodiversity International descriptors has been done, to add the agronomic evaluation. Parameters of productivity, rusticity, resistances and commercial qualities have been observed (°Brix, shelf life, fruit grade, crop cycle). A tasting test has been done for sensorial evaluation. The results showed the great adaptability of this specie to the organic cultivation management in our conditions. A group of 6-7 cultivars stand out by its general behavior, regarding all the observed parameters (both commercial and traditional cultivars).