Pre-germination treatments of melon seeds for the production of seedlings irrigated with biosaline water.

C. C. P. Leal,K. S. Guirra,M. B. Morais,M. S. Leite,B. F. Dantas,S. B. Torres,J. E. S. B. Silva,B. S. Guirra

doi:10.1590/1519-6984.257314

Abstract

Melon production in the Brazilian semi-arid region is subject to the use of marginal waters with high salinity. However, the use of regulators and bioactivators in seed treatment can mitigate the harmful effects of salts in irrigation water. In this context, the objective was to evaluate the effect of pre-germination treatments with plant regulators and bioactivator in melon seeds for the production of seedlings irrigated with biosaline water from fish farming effluent. For this, two trials with the Goldex and Grand Prix hybrids were carried out separately. A completely randomized design was used in a 4 × 3 factorial scheme (pre-germination treatments × water dilutions). In addition to the control, the seeds were treated with salicylic and gibberellic acids and thiamethoxam. The waters used for irrigation were local-supply water, fish farming effluent (biosaline water) and these diluted to 50%. Physiological and biochemical analyses were performed for fourteen days. Biosaline water (5.0 dS m-1) did not affect the emergence of Goldex melon seedlings, but compromised the establishment of the Grand Prix cultivar. Seed pre-treatments with salicylic and gibberellic acids attenuate the effects of water salinity and promote growth modulations, resulting in more vigorous melon seedlings.

Highlights

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) has an estimated world production of 31 million tons and a cultivated area of approximately 1.3 million hectares (FAO, 2018)
The objective was to evaluate the effect of pre-germination treatments with plant regulators and bioactivator on melon seeds aiming at the production of seedlings irrigated with biosaline water from fish farming effluent
The emergence of Goldex hybrid seedlings, whose seeds were treated with thiamethoxam, was affected only by the biosaline water (W3), with higher salt concentration (87%) (Figure 1A)

Summary

Introduction

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) has an estimated world production of 31 million tons and a cultivated area of approximately 1.3 million hectares (FAO, 2018). The objective was to evaluate the effect of pre-germination treatments with plant regulators and bioactivator on melon seeds aiming at the production of seedlings irrigated with biosaline water from fish farming effluent. Gibberellic and salicylic acids were beneficial to melon seedlings compared to the other treatments (10.7 and 11.04 respectively), with a 40% increase in the emergence speed index, compared to the control, regardless of the water used (Figure 1B).

Results

Conclusion