The World's Smallest Sweet Melon — "Pingpong Melon"

The "Pingpong Melon" was painstakingly bred over many years by Mr. Zhu Sihao, a renowned Chinese agricultural expert, Member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and founder of Shanghai Four-System Ecological Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. The variety was successfully developed and finalized in 2012. On October 18, 2016, it was officially certified by World Records as "The World's Smallest Muskmelon" (Certificate No. WRC160806L), making it the only muskmelon variety in the world to receive such recognition. From 2016 to 2021, the Pingpong Melon was successfully demonstrated in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Gansu, Shandong and other regions; from 2022 to 2025, demonstration cultivation was further expanded to northern provinces including Inner Mongolia, Hebei and Liaoning, fully validating its adaptability and yield stability.

The Pingpong Melon is an exclusive global germplasm resource developed by Zhu Sihao. Database verification confirms it is currently the world's only variety of its kind, featuring pure germplasm, stable genetic characteristics and outstanding comprehensive strengths, with no homogeneous competitors in the market. The variety combines exceptional commercial value, ornamental appeal and promotional potential, and is well suited to a wide range of business scenarios including large-scale commercial cultivation, development of specialty agricultural industrial parks, and brand operation of high-end specialty agricultural products. Licensing for variety transfer and technical cooperation is now fully available.

The Pingpong Melon is an indeterminate variety with an extremely high fruit set rate. No manual pollination or hormone sprays for flower and fruit retention are required during cultivation, significantly reducing labor and management costs. The plants exhibit vigorous growth, reaching a conventional height of approximately 3 meters and over 5 meters under optimal conditions. When grown in protected facilities, the variety bears fruit continuously throughout all four seasons. Its leaves resemble cucumber leaves in shape but are smaller overall; the plant features a compact and neat canopy, enabling convenient and efficient field management.

The Pingpong Melon boasts an exquisite and attractive appearance. Young fruits are emerald green; as they ripen, they gradually turn dark green with irregular stripes, and occasionally bright yellow with irregular stripes, presenting excellent marketable quality and high commercial value. This variety bears an exceptionally heavy crop, with a single plant yielding over 100 fruits at maximum. The smallest fruit measures merely 3 centimeters across, while larger ones reach the size of a ping-pong ball — hence the name "Pingpong Melon." The flesh tastes sweet, glutinous and crisp with a distinctive flavor, and its sugar content remains steady at 18–21 °Brix. The peel is edible raw and carries a fresh, natural melon fragrance. Fully ripe fruits release a rich, delicate and refreshing aroma, delivering an outstanding eating experience with both culinary and health-preserving value.

The Pingpong Melon boasts outstanding stress resistance, combining shade tolerance, drought resistance, heat tolerance and disease resistance, with exceptionally strong environmental adaptability. Trials and demonstrations across multiple regions have verified that it can withstand low temperatures of 4–5°C and endure extreme high temperatures of up to 50°C. When the ambient temperature stays steadily above 15°C, the plants grow significantly faster with vigorous vitality. Suitable for cultivation in both northern and southern China, it delivers strong field resistance and stable yields, making it one of the few muskmelon varieties capable of adapting to both extreme low and high temperature environments.

The Pingpong Melon achieves high and stable yields with remarkable economic benefits. Protected cultivation yields 4,000–5,000 kilograms per mu, while open-field cultivation yields 3,000–4,000 kilograms per mu. As a specialty agricultural product with homology of food and medicine, it is rich in nutrients and offers both edible and health-preserving value. With remarkable market advantages and strong competitiveness, it is well suited to diverse sales channels including high-end supermarkets, specialty pick-your-own farms, and customized gift markets.

This variety is an exclusive global germplasm resource bred by Zhu Sihao, free from homogeneous market competition. Licensing for variety transfer and technical cooperation is now fully open. Enterprises engaged in large-scale cultivation, agricultural industrial parks, and high-end agricultural product operators are welcome to discuss cooperation.