Many cultivars produce excessive vine growth. Pruning the vines is necessary only if the melons are to be trellised,optional otherwise. Pruning is performed to achieve a balance between vine growth and fruit set, it increases fruit weight while reducing the number of undesirable melons.
Melon vines produce a primary stem with many secondary branches [laterals]. A suitable pruning treatment for cantaloupes and muskmelons is to retain the primary stem and one of the first laterals while pruning all additional laterals up to and including the 6 -7th leaf node. All secondary branches after the eighth node can be left unpruned on the plant. This method of pruning permits the vine to be easily trellised either by a net trellis or by using strings and vine clips.