Hami Melon Fruit Quality Variation Across Regions and Its Correlation with Growing Environments

Fruit quality in Hami melon varies among production sites, but its associations with growing conditions remain insufficiently characterized. This study compared 31 fruit quality traits of 'Xizhoumi 17' collected from eight production sites in China in 2025 and explored their relationships with regional climatic conditions and soil properties. Analysis of variance, principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis, regression analysis and correlation analysis were used to characterize site-level variation. Fruit quality differed markedly across sites: total sugar content ranged from 4.94 to 13.19 g/100 g·FW, the sugar-acid ratio from 7.99 to 26.28, and texture profile TPA hardness from 24.09 to 43.62 N. Five principal components explained 94.74% of the total variance, and ranked Dachanghe, Xiquan and Huaxi as the three highest-scoring sites. Stepwise regression analysis identified fructose content, TPA hardness, and total sugar content as the core determinants of Hami melon quality, indicating that these traits can serve as fundamental evaluation criteria. Correlation analysis further suggested that adequate light exposure, large diurnal temperature variation, and relatively low air humidity are the three key climatic factors required for producing high-quality Hami melons. In addition, appropriately increasing nitrogen and organic fertilizer application while reducing excessive phosphate fertilizer input could further improve fruit quality. This study establishes a theoretical basis for the high-quality cultivation of Hami melons.