Abstract:Five different melon materials (P10 and 36 with hard flesh, 417 and 205 with crisp flesh and Charentais with soft flesh) which had three different tastes were analyzed by texture profile analysis (TPA) and puncture method to evaluate the texture characteristics of melon flesh. The cell microstructure of melon flesh were observed by tissue section method, and the cell size (area, perimeter, length and width) and shape (aspect and roundness) parameters were measured by Imagepro plus 6.0 software in order to make clear the variation characteristics of flesh cell microstructure of different melons during ripening. The relationships between cell morphological parameters and texture of melon flesh will provide the theoretical basis for quality breeding of melon. The results showed that: (1) the cells of P10 and 36 with hard flesh were smaller, and arranged closely; the cells of 417 and 205 with crisp flesh were larger, and arranged more loosely; and the cells of typical climacteric type Charentais which had soft flesh were the largest and extremely irregular. (2) Cell area and perimeter of melons with different tastes were significantly different in maturation, and had a significant negative correlation with taste. During fruit ripening, cell size parameters showed an increasing trend, but the cell aspect and roundness showed a decreasing trend, that is, the cells were more and more round. (3) The taste of melon flesh had significant or highly significant correlations with texture and cell size parameters. Significant or highly significant positive correlations were found between the cell size parameters and adhesiveness (0.951*-0.983**). But cell area was found to exert a significantly negative influence on TPA hardness and crispness (-0.910* and -0.926*, respectively), and cell length and width also had a significant influence on crispness (-0.884* and -0.894*, respectively). In the cell shape parameters, the correlation between cell roundness and adhesiveness was also significant (0.936*). These results indicated that melon flesh with different tastes had significant different texture and cell microstructure, and the melon taste was closely related to flesh texture and cell size, that is, the melon flesh texture will be harder with smaller cells.