Table to Farm: A sustainable systems-based approach for a safer and healthier melon supply chain in the U.S.

We are working with researchers at the University of Arizona School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences (UA-ACBS) and Texas A&M University to address critically important melon issues. Table to Farm:  A Sustainable systems-based approach for a safer and healthier melon supply chain in the U.S., a $4.4 million, 4-year USDA-NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative project lead by a team of specialized melon researchers and breeders at Texas A&M, will develop melon varieties that appeal to consumers with better flavor and aroma while minimizing food safety risks, using marker-assisted breeding technologies. $200,000 is dedicated to YCEDA's role of growing test varieties at the Yuma Ag Center to evaluate which cultivars are best suited for Arizona. Samples of these test varieties, as well as melons from commercial fields, with accompanying air, water, and soil samples will be sent each year to UA-ACBS researchers for food safety evaluations and Texas A&M for flavor and aroma testing. 

Publications and Links

Zhu, L., Wei, Q., Porchas, M., Brierley, P., Friedman, M., Crosby, K., Patil, B., and Ravishankar, S. 2022. Plant-based antimicrobials inactivate Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica on melons grown in different regions of the United States. Food Microbiology 101 (2022) 103876

Park, R., Rowlands, D., Wei, Q., Brierley, P., Porchas, M., Crosby, K., Patil, B., Friedman, M., and Ravishankar, S. 2022. Understanding Cross-Contamination of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica via Environmental Matrices onto Melons Grown in Different Regions of the United States. 

Singh. J., Matrani. R., Jayaprakasha, G., Crosby, K., Jifon, J., Ravishankar, S., Brierley, P., Leskovar, D., Turini, T., Schultheis, J., Coolong, T., Guan, W., and Patil, B. 2022. Profiling carotenoid and sugar contents in unique Cucumis melo L. cultigens harvested from different climatic regions of the United States. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 106 (2022) 104306

Nagashima, Y., He, K., Singh, J., Matrani, R., Crosby, K., Jifon, J., Jayaprakasha, G., Patil, B., Qian, X., and Koiwa, Hi. 2021. Transition of aromatic volatile and transcriptome profiles during melon fruit ripening. Plant Science 304 (2021) 110809

Matrani, R., Jayaprakeasha, G., and Patil, B. 2021. Optimization of Experimental Paramenters and Chemometrics Approach to Identify Potential Volatile Markers in Seven Cucumis melo Varieties Using HS-SPME-MS. Food analytical Methods (2022) 15:607-624