Cukes and melons get crossed

8/01/2000- Plant breeders, using traditional techniques, have, for the first time, crossed a cucumber with a melon--a breakthrough that could give both plants more genetic resistance against diseases and pests. USDA Agricultural Research Service botanist Joseph Kirkbride, a world expert on the genus Cucumis (Cucurbitaceae), named and described the new hybrid Cucumis x hytivus. This new species was developed by crossing a cucumber, Cucumis sativus, with a melon, Cucumis hystrix.Kirkbride, who works at the ARS Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory, Beltsville, Md., collaborated with Chen Jin-Feng, professor of horticulture at Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China, on naming and describing the new hybrid.