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- Author or Editor: Marcia Ricárdez-Salinas x
One of the major problems of watermelon production is the decrease of fruit yield and quality caused by soil diseases. Soil disinfection with methyl bromide (MB) has been used to prevent fungus attacks; however, its use is being restricted because this substance damages the ozone layer. Searching for new MB alternatives, field experiments were carried out in open field in soils infested with Olpidium bornovanus and melon necrotic spot virus in Colima, Mexico, where watermelons had only been grown previously using soil fumigation with MB. Yield and quality of watermelon cultivar triploid Tri-X 313 grafted on two rootstocks of Cucurbita maxima × Cucurbita moschata (‘RS841’ and ‘Shintosa Camelforce’) were evaluated during 2 consecutive years. Each experiment had five treatments, two of them with nongrafted plants at a density of 3472 plants/ha with and without MB fumigation. The remaining three treatments had grafted plants in nonfumigated soil with plant densities of 2778, 2083, and 1740 plants/ha. The use of watermelon grafted on ‘RS841’ and ‘Shintosa Camelforce’ rootstocks significantly increased the average fruit weight and the total yield of watermelon in soil without the need for MB. Grafting may be considered as an alternative MB fumigation. With the use of grafted watermelon plants, planting density may be reduced by 50%, obtaining higher yields than those obtained from nongrafted plants grown on fumigated soil except for ‘Tri-X 313’ grafted on ‘Shintosa Camelforce’ in 2006–2007. Fruits harvested from grafted plants had higher firmness than those harvested from nongrafted plants without affecting the content of soluble solids.