Biotechnology of cucurbits

Cucurbits is a general term for the species of the Cucurbitaceae family. This family comprises about 130 genera and more than 900 species of which only a few are cultivated.^1,2 Melon, watermelon, pumpkins, squash, gourds and cucumber represent the most important cucurbits. The world production of these crops is in excess of 115 million metric tons, on a total area harvested of 6.9 million hectares throughout the world (FAOSTAT database, 2000). The world production and the harvested area has increased three-fold in the last three decades. Similarly, yields have been also greatly improved in the last few years, for instance from 11.6 tons/ha in 1970 for cucumber to 16.2 tons/ha today. In this section, we concentrate on the most widely cultivated species with emphasis on those for which biotechnology methods have been applied (Table 10.1).