*2.1. Plant Material*

Nine di fferent melon cultivars were analyzed: Amarillo Oro Canario, Arizo, Blanco de Ribatejo, Charentais, Honeydew, Piñonet, Tendral Valenciano, Tendral Verde Tardío, and Piel de Sapo. Seeds from cv. Piel de Sapo were obtained from three di fferent conditions: traditional cultivation, organic

cultivation, and seeds from Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) Melon de la Mancha, kindly supplied by the Regulatory Board of the PGI (Tomelloso, Spain). Commercial melon seeds were obtained from local suppliers in Albacete (Spain). Seeds were cleaned and washed to remove sugars and any adhered residues. Then, seeds were dried at room temperature for several days until the seeds from all cultivars reached a moisture of less than 10%.

To evaluate the proportion of the peel with respect to the total weight of the seeds, 100 seeds were selected from each cultivar and manually peeled. The peels were weighted, and the proportion of the peel was calculated as the peel weight divided by the total seed weight.
