Three trials were undertaken to study storage conditions and handling procedures required to maximise the postharvest storage life of honeydew melons (Cucumis melo L. var. inodorus Naud.).Honeydew melons treated with chlorine (1000 mg/L), benomyl (250 mg/L) + guazatine (500 mg/L), shrink wrap (17 ym Cryovac XDR film), Semperfresh, wax, or combinations of these treatments were stored at 4 or 8�C, for 4 or 6 weeks. Benomyl plus guazatine reduced the development of storage rots associated with Alternaria and Fusarium spp. The use of shrink wrap and wax reduced water loss by melons but increased fungal infection in some cases. Shrink wrapping combined with the fungicide treatment effectively reduced the incidence of fungal breakdown in the storage period for up to 4 weeks. Wax coating with full strength Citruseal wax caused anaerobic tissue breakdown. Melons were affected by chilling injury at 4�C. Control of bacterial rots with benomyl + guazatine or with chlorine was variable. Semperfresh did not reduce the incidence of fungal breakdown or water loss from the melons. The results indicate that storage of honeydew melons for 4 weeks at 8�C by pretreating with fungicide is possible but the melons soften and rot after 6 weeks, making them unsaleable. Four weeks should be adequate to allow for sea freighting of honeydew melons to markets in South East Asia. Further research is required to determine the optimum storage temperature for honeydew melons.
Eight Nonpareil almond clones on Nemaguard rootstock were yield-tested in a field trial at Irymple, Victoria, for 4 cropping seasons (1986-89). Although few significant differences in yield were recorded in any year, the results showed that the Nonpareil clones differed in total yield and in total yield per unit of butt cross-sectional area by as much as 50%. For example, clone L54/3 produced a total dry kernel yield per tree per unit of butt crosssectional area of 51.2 kglcm2, while the high yielding clone G11/16 produced a yield of 77.6 kg/cm2. The 3 top-yielding clones (GI 1/16, P7/29 and K5/7) produced total dry kernel yields (1986-89) per tree per unit of butt cross-sectional area of 77.6, 73.6 and 71.7 g/cm2. However, clone K5/7 proved to be subject to non-infectious bud failure, and it is concluded that clones G11/16 and P7/29 could be useful, high-yielding clones for the Australian almond industry.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.