Abstract
The musk-melon is usually evaluated or estimated by the maturity and the configuration of nets on the rind of the fruit by consumers as well as producers. In this paper, the growth of the melon, the distribution and the expansion of the nets were investigated, and their characteristics and relationship were analyzed from the view point of the information engineering. The results are as follows:
1. The longitudinal crack first broke out near the equator. The number of nets derived from longitudinal cracks of matured fruits was proportional to the radius on the latitude where the net broke out. The density of longitudinal nets did not change with tce latitude. The width of the nets was inversely proportional to the radius where the net broke out.
2. The density of nets derived from latitudinal cracks was higher than that derived from longitudinal cracks. The density of nets derived from latitudinal cracks on the circumpolar zone, near the peduncle or the stylar scar, was higher than that near the equator. The density of nets derived from latitudinal cracks is proportional to the distance from the center to the position where the net broke out. The distribution of nets was entropy-like while the growth of the difference between the growth of the pericarp and the growth of the rind tissue. The cracks broke out on the place where the velocity of stretching of the rind was higher. The greater part of the growth of the fruit after breaking out the cracks is attributed to the growth of the cracks.
