Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae, genus Cucumis and species Cucumis melo L. Based on the theory of continental drift, the occurrence of feral and semi-feral melons in certain parts of the world, and the Mosaic, Biblic and Koranic theories, the watermelon is supposed to have originated in Central Africa and the muskmelon in south-eastern Africa and peninsular India. The present day occurrence of these plants in different parts of the world may be the result of dispersal by birds, animals and man. Melons (C. melo L.) are diploid, with 12 pairs of chromosomes (2n = 24). Native to Asia, melons spread to Africa some millennia ago. Apparently, the first culinary use of melons by man was of the nonsweet, bland, and crisp immature fruits, similar to cucumbers. The origin of the sweet melons has been traced to early medieval Khorasan, i.e., modern Turkmenistan and parts of neighboring countries. Melons vary greatly in fruit sizes, shapes, and colors. Among Cucurbitaceae, Cucumis melo is one of the most important cultivated cucurbits. They are grown primarily for their fruit, which generally have a sweet aromatic flavor, with great diversity and size (50 g to 15 kg), flesh color (orange, green, white, and pink), rind color (green, yellow, white, orange, red, and gray), form (round, flat, and elongated), and dimension (4 to 200 cm). C. melo can be broken down into seven distinct types based on the previously discussed variations in the species. Melons of the Cucurbitaceous family are known to mankind from time immemorial and are crops of both economic and nutritional importance. Melons can be broadly classified as those which can be consumed as fresh fruits (chandalak, momordica, indicus, ameri, cantalupensis, reticulates, inodorus, casaba, ibericus, makuwa and chinensis), used as vegetables for cooking (kachri, agrestis and acidulous), or for salad/pickling (conomon, flexuosus and chate). Melons exhibit the highest genetic diversity of phenotypic and biochemical traits, depending on the climatic zone and local preferences of the Cucurbitaceae family, allowing plant breeders to develop superior cultivars. Melon is a crucial eudicot diploid with a genome size of 454 Mb. It is extensively cultivated all over the globe, in temperate, subtropical and tropical areas. Melon crop grown on approximately 1.5 million hectares worldwide. The total production of melons exceeds 30 million metric tons on a commercial scale in over 100 countries. Melon fruit yields have been documented to vary between 6101 and 25,173 kg per hectare. In a study of 85 diverse melon varieties, the average yield per plant was found to range from 2.47 to 6.76 kg. In this review article on Origin, Domestication, Taxonomy, Botanical Description, Genetics and Cytogenetics, Genetic Diversity, Breeding, Uses, Nutritional Value and Health Benefits of Barnyard Millet are discussed.
