Tolerance of melon cultivars to irrigation water salinity

Francisco A De L Pereira,Welka Preston,Hans R Gheyi,Cybelle B E L Vasconcelos,José F De Medeiros,Nildo Da S Dias

doi:10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v21n12p846-851

Abstract

ABSTRACT The use of saline water for irrigation causes severe restriction to nutritional balance, growth and production in many crops due to the effect of salts on plant and soil. The objective of this study was to investigate the response of melon (Cucumis melo L.) cultivars to various levels of irrigation water salinity on yield and fruit quality. A field experiment was conducted in a split-plot randomized block design with four replicates. The factors were five levels of irrigation water salinity (0.54, 1.48, 2.02, 3.03 and 3.90 dS m-1) in the plots and five melon cultivars (C1 - Sancho - Pele de sapo; C2 - Medellín - Pele de sapo; C3 - Mandacaru - Canary; C4 - Néctar - Galia; C5 - Sedna - Cantaloupe) in the sub-plots. According to the results, among the five genotypes studied, Sancho was the most salt-tolerant genotype, followed by Mandacaru, Medellín, Sedna and Néctar. Since irrigation water salinity did not influence the mean fruit weight, the reduction in the number of fruits was the main cause of yield reduction of the melon crop under high salinity water. The contents of total soluble solids increased under high salinity level.

Highlights

Melon production in Rio Grande do Norte is concentrated in the microregion of Mossoró, on the Apodi Plateau, encompassing the semi-arid region close to the coast
Analyses were carried out at the Laboratory of Irrigation and Salinity of the Department of Environmental and Technological Sciences of the Federal University of the Semi-Arid Region (UFERSA) and at the Laboratory of Irrigation and Salinity of the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), according to methodology proposed by EMBRAPA (1997)
Production and production components According to the analysis of variance, production variables and production components were influenced by salinity, except mean fruit weight

Summary

Introduction

Melon production in Rio Grande do Norte is concentrated in the microregion of Mossoró, on the Apodi Plateau, encompassing the semi-arid region close to the coast. The main factors favoring the production and quality of melon fruits are the adequate edaphoclimatic conditions of the region. Water management and use efficiency are essential for a sustainable cultivation, since irrigation consumes a large volume of goodquality surface water. Ground waters used for irrigation in the semiarid region are frequently saline and their use has adverse effects on soil, water and plants, causing severe restrictions to physiological activities and productive capacity of crops (Plaut et al, 2013; Kim et al, 2016). The vegetative growth, cell surface expansion and primary carbon metabolism of many crops are negatively affected by osmotic stress, water deficit, nutritional imbalance and oxidative stress (Kim et al, 2008)

Objectives

Methods

Results