Origin and history of old cucurbit cultivars in Israel and the sources of several internationally important market types

Over the past century, Israel was a focal point for the improvement of local cucurbit landraces and introduction of cucurbit germplasm. Some improved open-pollinated cucurbit cultivars developed in Israel became established as market types of considerable economic importance far beyond its borders. The origin and history of these cultivars is not widely known and therefore the purpose of the present work was to collect and compare the records relevant to the development of these cultivars, and to describe them more fully. The four economically most important cultivars originated through mass-selection by amateur breeders and were named after their respective farming communities. The ‘Bet Alfa’ cucumber (Cucumis sativus) was selected from a local landrace and introduced in 1936. The ‘Malali’ watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) originated as a rogue in a local landrace and was commercialized around 1940. The ‘Ananas Yoqne‘am’ melon (Cucumis melo) was selected from a local landrace and commercialized around 1950. The ‘Ha‘Ogen’ melon was selected from a cultivar introduced from Hungary and commercialized in the 1950s. The outstanding fruit quality of these four cultivars resulted in their widespread planting in Israel and neighboring countries. Moreover, the quality of the cucumber and melon cultivars inspired successive improvements, notably introgression of disease resistance and development of hybrids, by Israeli breeder-geneticists. The ever-increasing demand for their high-quality fruits established as international market types the Bet Alfa cucumber, the Ananas Yoqne‘am melon, and the Ha‘Ogen melon and its derivative, the Galia melon, and each is intensively bred today by local and multinational seed companies.