YIELD RESPONSES OF SOILLESS MELON AND TOMATO TO DIFFERENT IRRIGATION WATER QUALITIES

Melon (Cucumis melo L.), cv.
Galia, and Tomato (Lycopersicon escuentum Mill.), cv.
Daniela, plants were grown in a greenhouse equipped with automatic irrigation control for nutrient solution supply.
Plants were transplanted into commercial perlite bags.
Treatments consisted of applying solutions of electrical conductivity (EC) 2 (control), 4, 6 and 8 dS m^-1 at different phenological stages.
In melon plants, results show a 16% fruit yield reduction when 4 dSm^-1 is applied from 14 DAT (days after transplanting) and 9% when applied from 71 DAT. However, for high level salinity (8 dS m^-1) the reductions were 56% and 16% respectively.
Reductions of yield upon early treatment applications were due to a reduced number of fruits, but yield effects of later-commencing treatments were due to a decrease in individual mean weight.
For tomato, 4 dS m^-1 applied from 16 DAT onwards reduced yield by 10 % with respect to the control but when applied from 66 DAT there was no effect.
The 8 dS m^-1 treatment decreased yield by 49% and 39% when applied from 16 and 66 DAT respectively.
A van Genuchten model was applied and showed that there were significant treatment effects, melon yield showing a C50 of ca. 7, 8, 12 and 14 dS m^-1 (at 14, 37, 56 and 71 DAT respectively) whereas for tomato values were ca. 7, 8 and 9 dS m^-1 (at 16, 36 and 66 DAT respectively). Increased salinity at the later stages improved quality in both tomato and melon fruits.

V International Symposium on Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climates: Current Trends for Suistainable Technologies

F.M. del Amor, P. Flores, M. Carvajal, V. Martínez, J.M. Navarro, A. Cerdá

Melon (Cucumis melo L), Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), salinity, tolerance, yield modelling, fruit quality

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2001.559.49