Pepino melon is a native fruit to South America, succulent, sweet, and high in nutritional value because it contains antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin A and beta-carotene.

Pepino melons are grown very popularly in many countries around the world, such as Chile, New Zealand, Japan, USA, etc. In Vietnam, pepino melons have just been imported and planted in recent years, mainly in Da Lat, brought source of income for growers. However, the cultivation of pepino melons in our country is mainly based on household scale and is self-sufficient. Some places have formed melon growing areas in the direction of commodity production but have not yet met consumer demand. The method of growing melons in the field is easily affected by environmental factors, pests and diseases, and adverse weather, which makes melon plants grow poorly, yield and quality decrease. Meanwhile, pepino melon is relatively hardy, adapting to temperatures from 2 - 37oC. Plants grow best in warm environments, well adapted to growing in greenhouses.

In the past two years, the Center for High-Tech Agricultural Enterprise Incubation has researched and developed a suitable technical process to grow pepino melons in greenhouses in Ho Chi Minh City with steps, such as preparing the greenhouse, selecting varieties, drip irrigation system, planting, caring for melons, nutrition, pest control, harvesting.

The above process has been applied at the Center for Incubation of High-Tech Agricultural Enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City in the model of growing pepino melons on substrates in greenhouse conditions using a drip irrigation system. As a result, the average number of fruits per tree ranged from 3.4 to 6.8 fruits/tree; average fruit weight from 140 to 221g/fruit; The actual yield is 3162kg/1,000m2.

The first step shows that the model of growing pepino melon in a greenhouse is economically viable and can be replicated in Ho Chi Minh City and Southern provinces. The growing process has also been accepted by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology in the past year, so the Center can transfer to units wishing to grow pepino melons.