2. Materials and methods
2.1. Melons
Charentais melons (C. melo L. var. cantalupensis) of two different
genotypes (one medium shelf-life coded as MSL (cv. Match) and
one long shelf-life coded as LSL (cv. Vulcano)) harvested at two dis-
tinct maturities (immature – harvested prior to commercial har-
vest point – coded as i, and mature – harvested at commercial
harvest point – coded as m) were supplied by Syngenta Seeds
Ltd. The harvest point was defined according to the senescence
of the leaf next to the fruit, also taking into account changes in
the external fruit colour plus the senescence of the peduncle (these
are non-slip varieties which means that they do not detach from
the plant; however, the peduncle does senesce). Melons were
stored at 8 °C before analysis, and all analyses were performed
within 4 days of receipt in June 2009 (shipping times were the
same for all samples and aligned to commercial practices).