Identification of top-notch resources and core traits of melon (Cucumis melo L.) varieties associated with distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) examination

Amini, Saeed; Tahernezhad, Zahra; Ghayoom-Asghari, Shokoufeh; Jazayeri Noushabadi, MohammadReza; Zare, Leila; Toulou-Tokmehdash, Akram

doi:10.22092/ijsst.2025.366978.1541

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ seed and plant certification and registration institute (SPCRI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran

² SPCRISeed and Plant Certification and Registration Institute (SPCRI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran

³ Seed and Plant Certification and Registration Institute (SPCRI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran

⁴ Agriculture, Research, Education and Extension Organization(AREEO), Seed and Plant Certification and Registration Institute(SPCRI), Karaj, Iran

⁵ Seed and Plant Certification and Registration Institute (SPCRI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran.

10.22092/ijsst.2025.366978.1541

Abstract

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is a popular crop from the Cucumis genus that could be used as a fruit. Variety identification via distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) testing plays an essential role in preserving the intellectual property of new varieties. This investigation was conducted in the 2022 and 2023 growing seasons and, evaluates the 67 phenotypic characters of thirty-one C. melo hybrid varieties using quantitative trait measurement and qualitative trait visual inspection. The study found considerable character diversity, with Shannon-Wiener (H′) and Simpson diversity indices ranging from 0 to 3.71 and 0 to 0.990, respectively. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) effectively distinguished all varieties. Twenty core characters, including fifteen fruit characters, have been selected based on the PCA score to improve field identification efficiency. The most significant characteristic was the fruit cork formation, which explained 13.11% of the phenotypic variance. Interestingly, the scatter plot based on phenotypic DUS data revealed four categories: Galia, Talebi, American eastern, American western and Ananas types. Marko, JANNA, and Omid were the top three varieties evaluated using the M-TOPSIS approach based on ten measured characters.

Keywords

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Iranian Journal of Seed Science and Technology

Identification of top-notch resources and core traits of melon (Cucumis melo L.) varieties associated with distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) examination

References

References

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 12 September 2026

Identification of top-notch resources and core traits of melon (Cucumis melo L.) varieties associated with distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) examination

References

References

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript Available Online from 12 September 2026

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 12 September 2026