Review on advance breeding and biotechnological approaches for muskmelon improvement

Abstract

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is a warm season old-world cucurbit species which a member of family Cucurbitaceae is extensively cultivated for its fleshy fruits. Melons exhibit considerable variation in their phenotypic and biochemical traits, depending on the agroclimatic zones of cultivation and regional preferences. The following aims to assess the progress and potential outcomes of melon breeding programs utilizing the latest techniques. Significant milestones have been reached in melon breeding over the past century, and this progress is expected to continue. However, further research is needed to uncover new genetic insights related to challenges posed by climate change. The identification of valuable hereditary and also metabolic variability in the form of landraces and melon wild relatives will be useful for harvest diversification and also for the broadening of the cultivated melon genetic base. Whereas, considerable information on genomics, and melon metabolomics, is beneficial for dissecting the basis of the inheritance of important traits. Overall, we hope the manuscript is going to serve as a crucial resource for the melon breeders. The development of plant biotechnological tools for melons offers the prospect to develop new varieties, more rapidly, avoiding natural genetic barriers. The use of these methods has extended to increase the genetic diversity by somatic hybridisation or gene transfer and to optimise conventional breeding programmes.