Abstract
Genetically improvement of crops, high quality seeds extension and advanced cultural techniques promotion have been contributors to yield increase and to nutrient supply. However, the global population is growing and the agricultural environment is changing, the world food supplies will meet strongly pressure in the future. To feed the several billion human beings and to maintain food security, the production of food must be increased. Vegetables are the important sources to provide micronutrient to people living. Among the vegetables, the cucurbit crops are one of the largest groups with the wide adaptation from temperate to tropical climate environment. The Cucurbits is a group for cultivated species of the family Cucurbitaceae which is originated from tropical and subtropical regions around the world. By production area, the top four cucurbits produced in the globe are watermelon, cucumber, squash and melon. In Taiwan, cucurbit crops also occupy the dominant source of vegetables in consumption market, especially watermelon, melon, cucumber, sponge gourd and bitter gourd. Cucurbits are one of the major providers of vegetables and supplementary food. Because the cucurbits are grew in warmer seasons in Taiwan, the production of cucurbits face some stress challenges w ich are due to the changing agricultural environment. Temperature variation, floods, drought, disease\n pathogens and pest are the major stress, which adversely affect cucurbit plants growth and productivity. Therefore, it is important to improve the breeding and cultural technologies of cucurbit crops in the changing agricultural environment. Some essential components are required simultaneously: mining and exploit of genetic diversity, establishment of stress breeding indices, enhance of collaboration, advanced research techniques and efficiency and developing high quality researchers. The integrated strategies for scientific research should be implementing to maintain and increase cucurbit crop production in unpredictable environment.