Yield and fruit quality of two melon cultivars irrigated with saline water at different stages of development.

摘要

The response of melon (Cucumis melo) cultivars (Galia and Amarillo Oro) to irrigation with saline water at different stages of development was studied under field conditions in Spain. Two levels of salinity (1.3 and 6.1 dS m-1) were used for irrigation water. Four treatments varying with respect to the time of application of saline water were used. These treatments were: control water (1.3 dS m-1) supplied throughout the experiment, saline water (6.1 dS m-1) supplied from transplanting to harvest, control water supplied until flowering, then saline water supplied until harvest, and control water supplied from transplanting to fruiting, then saline water supplied until harvest. Salinity had similar effects on vegetative growth in both cultivars. However, Galia exhibited greater salt tolerance than Amarillo Oro based on fruit yield, since marketable yield was reduced by 12 and 39%, respectively, when salinity was applied throughout the experiment. Salinity reduced the number of flowers in Amarillo Oro and delayed flowering in Galia. The application of saline water from fruiting onwards did not reduce the marketable fruit yield (28.8 and 20.6 t ha-1 for Galia and Amarillo Oro, respectively) and increased fruit quality (TSS [total soluble solids] and maturity index) in both cultivars. Melon plants accumulated Na+ and Cl- in the stem, avoiding high concentrations of these ions in the leaves..