Abstract
Rock melon (Cucumis melo Linn), one of the most popular and delicious fruits of Malaysia has great potential for commercial development. Currently, rock melon is most widely cultivated under rain shelter structure using soilless culture. This study aimed to determine the effect of mycorrhiza, various fertilizer and planting media applications on growth performance of rock melon (Cucumis melo Linn cv. Glamour) in open area. The experiment comprised the following treatments: T1 = Medium A - Mycorrhizal + Inorganic fertilizer, T2 = Medium A + Mycorrhiza + Organic fertilizer, T3 = Medium A + Mycorrhiza + Inorganic fertilizer, T4 = Medium A - Mycorrhizal + Organic fertilizer, T5 = Medium B + Mycorrhiza + Organic fertilizer, T6 = Medium B + Mycorrhiza + Inorganic fertilizer, T7 = Medium B - Mycorrhiza + Organic fertilizer and T8 = Medium B - Mycorrhiza + Inorganic fertilizer. Medium A consisted of Peat moss + Perlite + Vermiculite while Medium B comprised Peat moss + Perlite + Vermiculite + Top soil. A randomised complete block design experiment with three replications was conducted at the Horticulture Research Centre plot, MARDI, Serdang. Different types of fertilizer, planting media and applications of arbuscular mycorrhizal had effects on fruit production and yield of melon as compared to control (T1). Maximum and significant yield of melon was from T6 plants. Furthermore, the maximum fruit weight and total soluble solids of 1350 g and 14.25 °Brix, respectively, were from T6 treated plants and the minimum was from T4 (717 g and 10.17 °Brix, respectively). The presence of the indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculums in planting media was successful in colonizing plant roots, resulting in better plant growth and significantly enhanced yield of rock melon. This study suggested the possibility of applying moderate combinations of planting media with mycorrhiza in producing good quality and high yield of rock melon.
Highlights
Horticultural cultivation is becoming widespread in urban areas of Malaysia
At 76 days after transplanting (DAT), the maximum and significant on plant height was recorded from T6 plants (190.78 cm) while the lowest plant height was recorded from T4 plants (146.89 cm) at harvest (Figure 4)
Results obtained from the current study indicates that both vegetative and reproductive growth of Cucumis melo plants were strongly affected by type of fertilizer, planting media and mycorrhiza applied
Summary
Horticultural cultivation is becoming widespread in urban areas of Malaysia. Growing climbing vegetables vertically in pots using a simple structure called Canopytechture (Figure 1) has been developed by Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI). It is a specially designed structure to allow the plants to twist, cling and grow vertically. This structure has a special hexagonal shade frame measuring 150 centimeters in diameter and is located on a support pole with a height of 180 cm. Through training and bending process, vegetables or fruit trees can grow vertically and produce fruits that hang in the special section. For urban agriculture, this simple multipurpose support structure is very practical to be applied with a self-watering container (SWC) or regular pot for cultivating climbing vegetables such as angled gourd, bitter gourd, cucumber and pumpkin as well as fruits such as grapes, passion fruit and melons. Its use can help the landowners to grow crops in limited spaces
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