Growth and yield of Cantaloupe melon 'Acclaim' in protected cultivation using agrotextile

Abstract

In Rio Grande do Norte, the melon growers have been using the row cover on the roof of the plants to start flowering in order to reduce the population of insect pests that cause severe losses, rising production costs, especially with the application of defensive. Thus, it is important to know the best time to remove the row cover because, due to its use, it is assumed that there are changes in the physiological response of plants. In order to evaluate the growth and yield of the melon plants 'Acclaim' cultivated under protection agrotextile (TNT) for different periods, a trial was conducted at the Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-árido, Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte state. The experimental design was a randomized complete block, with four replications, in a splitplot, the plots were the plant protection periods (0, 18, 21, 24, 27 and 30 days after transplanting, DAT), and splitplots, times of sampling the plants (13, 20, 27, 34, 41, 48 and 55 DAT). We evaluated the dry matter accumulation in leaves (LDMA), branches (BDMA), flowers (FDMA), fruits (FrdMA) and total (TDMA), assimilate partitioning, leaf area index (LAI), leaf weight ratio (LWR), absolute growth rate (AGR) and relative (RGR), net assimilation rate (NAR), total (PTOT) and marketable productivity (PCOM). The treatments with plant protection did not affect the TDMA which peaked at 295.12 g plant -1 at 53 DAT, with the fruits behaving like sink preferred plant, accounting for 72.25% of the dry mass accumulated. The LAI and the AGR grew by 55 and 42 DAT (1.95 and 18.518 g/plant/day), respectively, while the LWR and RGR decreased over the cycle, with peaks of 0.911 and 0.242 g/g/day, at 13 and 20 DAT, respectively. The PTOT and PCOM were not affected by periods of plant protection, with averages of 29.30 and 22.25 t ha -1 , respectively, indicating that it is possible to manage the row cover in order to remove it later, that reduces costs and crop protection without significant loss in productivity.

Melon cultivation under agrotextile increases production and reduces phytosanitary products

“…Our results differ from those values reported by Santos et al (2014), who obtained commercial productivity between 32.64 and 29.20 t ha −1 using protection between 18 and 30 DAT for cantaloupe melon.…”

Characteristics of muskmelon fruits in relation to temporary row cover and the number of fruits

“…In this sense, knowing the best time to remove this mulch is of fundamental importance, since this management is able to promote changes in fructification, as the row cover does not allow bees to enter, so the flowers are not available to be pollinated (Santos et al, 2014). I n t w o e x p e r i m e n t s o n t h e municipality of Baraúnas, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, Cantaloupe melon 'Torreon', cultivated with and without the use of row covers, a productivity of 29.28 and 25.74 t/ha was obtained when the row cover was used up to 28 days after transplanting and without the row cover; moreover, the use of row covers promoted an increase of fruit productivity intended for the external market (Medeiros et al, 2007).…”

Gas exchange and yield of industrial tomato under different types of irrigation and non-woven fabric plant cover

“…The technique for using non-woven fabric in the present study was adapted from the widespread use of this material for covering melon plants (Medeiros et al, 2007;Santos et al, 2014;Benincasa et al, 2014). The use of different colors of non-woven fabric occurred to understand the variation in physiological characteristics, which are influenced by the different colors of the cover (Silva et al, 2019b).…”

“…For many crops, the use of non-woven fabrics has a positive effect (Medeiros et al, 2007;Santos et al, 2014;Benincasa et al, 2014). For other crops, the results are not yet conclusive due to plant physiological changes, mainly gas exchange, which can be influenced by the different colors of non-woven fabric (Silva et al, 2019b).…”