Use of colored agrotextiles and length of stay in the cultivation of yellow melons

Odair Honorato De Oliveira,Roberto Cleiton Fernandes De Queiroga,Francisco Alves Da Silva,Alvaro Gustavo Ferreira Da Silva,Franciscleudo Bezerra Da Costa,Evandro Franklin De Mesquita,Higínio Luan Oliveira Silva

doi:10.33448/rsd-v10i6.15951

Abstract

The coverage of plants with agrotextiles of different colors and length of stay may influence the productivity of the crop. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the use of colored agrotextiles and their length of stay on the cultivation of melon plants in the conditions of the semiarid region of Paraíba. The experiment was fulfilled out at the Experimental Farm of the Federal University of Campina Grande, located in the municipality of São Domingos – PB. The treatments were distributed in a randomized block design in a 4 x 4 factorial scheme, with four repetitions and consisting of four colors of agrotextile (orange, white, gray, and blue) and four lengths of stay (15, 18, 21, and 24 days after transplanting). The following characteristics were evaluated: active photosynthetic radiation, average temperature, number of fruits per plant, average fruit mass and total productivity. The use of colored agrotextiles associated with the length of stay promoted a change in the production characteristics of the yellow melon fruits. The highest productivity, number of fruits, and mass of the melon fruits were obtained when the plants were covered with the orange-colored agrotextile at 15, 18, and 24 days after transplantation, respectively. The long stay of the agrotextile affected the content of total soluble solids.

Highlights

Melon is a plant grown in several countries and has been recorded in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America (Silva et al 2018)
The work was carried from October 2018 to January 2019 at the Experimental Farm of the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG) in São Domingos - Paraíba, Brazil
Despite being a C3 plant, the melon tree needs high levels of radiation and temperature to reach its maximum production potential. This significant reduction in radiation and temperature levels is directly related to the color since the agrotextile in the colors blue and gray compared to the white color shows a condition of more shading, affecting the passage of the sun's rays and, the temperature

Summary

Introduction

Melon is a plant grown in several countries and has been recorded in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America (Silva et al 2018). According to FAO (2019), melon production in the world in 2017 was 31,948.349 million tons Of this total, Brazil produced 540,229 thousand tons of fruit and, in the Northeast region of Brazil, mainly in Chapada do Apodi (RN) and Baixo Jaguaribe (CE), stood out as the central producing locations corresponding to 72.4% of the melon produced in the country (IBGE, 2019). Brazil produced 540,229 thousand tons of fruit and, in the Northeast region of Brazil, mainly in Chapada do Apodi (RN) and Baixo Jaguaribe (CE), stood out as the central producing locations corresponding to 72.4% of the melon produced in the country (IBGE, 2019) This species is considered a C3 cycle plant; it demands solar radiation and temperature. Excessive sunlight on plants can be prejudicial to photosynthesis because the efficiency of the photosynthetic process is severely reduced in these conditions, after all, when the leaves are exposed to more light than they can use, that is, above from the saturation point, the photosynthetic apparatus is damaged and becomes inactive due to photoinhibition (Brant et al 2011)

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