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Bitter gourd, Momordica charantia L., is an important commercial cucurbitaceous vegetable of enormous medicinal value in Asia because of its secondary metabolite content. We report here the characterization and evaluation of open-pollinated (OP) edible South Asian and Southeast Asian types of bitter gourd breeding lines, developed at the World Vegetable Center, for horticultural traits (11 OP) and secondary metabolites (10 OP) and their comparisons with commercial OP and F1 hybrid cultivars. Marketable yields of South Asian and Southeast Asian type breeding lines were comparable to the OP ‘BARI Karella 1’ and the hybrid ‘Benteng’, respectively. The bitter gourd cultivars and breeding lines included in this study exhibited specific patterns for five secondary metabolites (saponins, carotenoids, chlorophyll a and b, and vitamin C): in general the two cultivars and South Asian type breeding lines contained higher levels of secondary metabolites, e.g. carotenoids, than the Southeast Asian bitter gourd breeding lines. Some of these bitter gourd lines will be released to Asian home and school gardeners after conducting multi-location trials across Asia to improve vegetable consumption as a main task of bitter gourd breeding., Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality, Vol 92 (2019): Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality

Bitter gourd, bottle gourd, wax gourd, snake gourd, sponge gourd, andridge gourd are cultivated and marketed by smallholder farmers, and are importantcrops in home gardens throughout southern and southeastern Asia. These vegetablesprovide significant dietary nutrients such as vitamin A and C, iron and calcium.Public sector breeders and germplasm curators release open-pollinated varieties ofthese cucurbits developed through selection from landraces. Private sector breeders develop F1 hybrid cultivars of these gourds that are popular with growers becauseof their uniformity, early and total marketable yield, and, in some cases, diseaseresistance. This chapter reviews the status of germplasm resources for sustainedgenetic improvement of these cucurbit species. Susceptibility to viruses is currentlythe major production constraint for these gourds, and systematic evaluation of theirgermplasm against viruses will be helpful for breeding improved cucurbit lines. Thegermplasm resources of these gourd species are held in an array of genebanks inseveral countries and may not be readily available for scientific research or to commercial breeders outside of their respective country. Many accessions of these gourd species listed by the World Vegetable Center and the U.S. Germplasm ResourcesInformation Network are either not available or inactive. More accessions of thesegourd species and their relatives need, therefore, to be collected from variousregions of the tropics, conserved, and evaluated to ensure continuous genetic gainsin breeding programs.

Snapmelon (Cucumis melo L. Momordica Group; 2n=2x=24) is native to India, where it is widely cultivated and is commonly called ‘phut’, which means to split. Immature fruits are cooked or eaten raw. In this paper we review the wealth of genetic resources in Indian snapmelon landraces for resistance to fungal and viral diseases, nematodes, and insects, and tolerance to drought, soil salinity, and high temperature. Global melon breeding programs have transferred many of these qualities into openpollinated and hybrid cultivars of sweet melons cultivated in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas. Snapmelon is a source of high fruit acidity, a trait that has been utilized to breed uniquely flavored melon cultivars. Resistance genes to combat pathogens and pests, and to strengthen crop resilience against climate change have been identified in snapmelon collections from various parts of India. More effort is needed to collect, characterize, evaluate and preserve snapmelon diversity in genebanks

Snapmelon ([i]Cucumis melo[/i] L. [i]Momordica[/i] Group; 2n=2x=24) is native to India, where it is widely cultivated and is commonly called ‘phut’, which means to split. Immature fruits are cooked or eaten raw. In this paper we review the wealth of genetic resources in Indian snapmelon landraces for resistance to fungal and viral diseases, nematodes, and insects, and tolerance to drought, soil salinity, and high temperature. Global melon breeding programs have transferred many of these qualities into openpollinated and hybrid cultivars of sweet melons cultivated in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas. Snapmelon is a source of high fruit acidity, a trait that has been utilized to breed uniquely flavored melon cultivars. Resistance genes to combat pathogens and pests, and to strengthen crop resilience against climate change have been identified in snapmelon collections from various parts of India. More effort is needed to collect, characterize, evaluate and preserve snapmelon diversity in genebanks

International audience; Indian melon (Cucumis melo L.) landraces comprise a wealth of genetic diversity that has been exploited over the millennia by farmers and over the last century by scientifically trained plant scientists in the public and private sectors. Melons in India may be feral or cultivated, have netted or smooth rinds, be sweet and eaten as a dessert fruit or not sweet and consumed as a vegetable fresh, cooked, or dried. The fruit may be processed for sweet juice and confectionary flavoring, and the seeds are a source of high-quality cooking oil and high-protein seed meal. This chapter reviews genetic variation for resistance to fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases and to nematodes and insects; and tolerance to soil salinity, drought, flooding, and high temperatures with a focus on melon accessions of Indian origins. Some of these resistances have knowing or unknowingly been transferred through scientifically based breeding programs into open-pollinated and hybrid sweet melon cultivars grown in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas for domestic and export markets. Indian melons include unique sources of high acidity and sugar: acid ratio that enable breeding for new combinations of sweet and sour flavors for fresh and processed melon products. Genetic variation in carotenoids (b-carotene), ascorbic acid, and micronutrient (Fe and Zn) contents in Indian germplasm promise more nutritious melons. High percentages of unique alleles are present in southern (24.2%)andeastern (30.4%) Indian landraces and in ‘‘wild’’ accessions from northern India (34.5%). Extensive collection, preservation, and evaluation of Indian melon landraces is vital to prevent further genetic erosion in this primary center of melon diversity, to increase genetic variability for melon breeding, and to introduce new traits into modern melon cultivars. International collaborations are developing genomics tools for melon that will facilitate allele mining within Indian germplasm and introduce new genetic variability. We are on the verge of an exciting era of melon genetic improvement as whole-plant breeding and genomics technologies combine to preserve and fully characterize the complete array of genetic variability in melon and exploit that germplasm and information for the further improvement of salad and dessert melons for diverse markets worldwide.