About
Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo), also referred to as muskmelon, is a vining plant in the Cucurbit family. This warm-season crop is sensitive to cold temperatures and requires a fairly long growing season from seed to marketable fruit. There are two general types of muskmelons. The Eastern type is large (5 to 8 pounds), coarsely netted, deeply grooved, and has relatively soft flesh. The Western cantaloupe generally weighs 2 to 4 pounds and is heavily netted, with shallow grooves and a small seed cavity.
Cantaloupes, like other vining crops, require pollination for fruit set. Pollen must be transferred from the male flowers to the female flowers. Cantaloupes are different from other vining crops, however, because produce some flowers which contain male and female parts as well as those which contain only male parts, but bee pollination is still necessary for fruit set. High temperatures or high fertility can cause cantaloupe to produce only male blooms which result in poor fruit set. Most problems with fruit set in cantaloupes are caused by a lack of pollinating insects during the bloom period.