Effect of Deficit Irrigation and Rootstocks on Fruit Weight During Post-Harvest Controlled Storage of Watermelon

Abstract

Grafted seedlings are used not only for protection from soil-borne diseases but also to increase tolerance to abiotic stress conditions, improve fruit quality and increase nutrient uptake in the soil. In this study, it was aimed to determine the effect of different watermelon rootstocks on weight loss of watermelon fruits, which were obtained at deficit irrigation levels and they were stored under controlled conditions for different periods. For this purpose, 2 citron watermelons, 1 open bottle gourd and 1 hybrid TZ-148 which is widely used for watermelon in Turkey were used as rootstock. The "Crimson Tide" commercial cultivar was grafted onto these rootstocks and non-grafted applications were used as control lots. 5 different irrigation levels were applied according to the plant pan coefficient such as kcp1 = 1.00 (I100), kcp2 = 0.75 (I75), kcp3 = 0.50 (I50), kcp4 = 0.33 (I33) and kcp5 = 0.00 (I0) non-irrigated. According to the results, all watermelon rootstocks caused by less fruit weight loss compared to non-grafted applications and it has been demonstrated that using grafted rootstocks is an advantage in watermelons to be stored. On the other hand, TZ-148 commercial rootstock and citron melon 1 rootstock determined as the best rootstock in post-harvest storage. The I100 and I75 irrigation levels have approximately the same weight loss.