Abstract
The salt tolerance of 3 muskmelon cultivars (Cucumis melo L. cv. Top Mark, PMR 45, and Hale's Best) was determined in plots artificially salinized with NaCl and CaCl2. Marketable yield, total dry weight, vine dry weight, and total fruit weight of all cultivars decreased with increasing salinity. ‘Top Mark’, the highest yielding cultivar at low salinity, yielded least at high salinity. ‘PMR 45’ was the least affected with increasing salinity. Na and Cl in the leaves and fruit and % soluble solids in the fruit all increased with increasing salinity levels.
Abstract
Four seedbed configurations, north-sloped, south-sloped, mid-bed trenched, and standard flat-topped beds, were evaluated for influence on plant growth, development, and yield in ‘TAM Uvalde’ muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.). The most desirable growth rate and yield pattern was produced in mid-bed trenches. This configuration significantly increased early yield. Early season yield (June harvest) was 8670 kg/ha or 48% of total yield for the mid-bed trenched treatment as compared with 7170 (38%), 4730 (32%), and 3380 kg/ha (20%), respectively, for the south-sloped, standard, and north-sloped beds.
. Pech, J.C. Bouzayen, M. Latche, A. Romojaro, F. 2001a The use of ethylene-suppressed lines to assess differential sensitivity to ethylene of the various ripening pathways in cantaloupe melons Physiol. Plant. 113
Root Feed is a product developed by Stoller Enterprises, Inc., to enhance crop productivity and quality. Weekly application of Root Feed in drip-irrigated crops was found to be the most effective frequency of application. Root Feed increased the number of the largest melons and total melons by over 50% and also increased fruit °Brix (soluble solids). Moreover, it was observed that a number of pests were suppressed with Root Feed, namely, whiteflies, a cucurbit virus, and downy mildew.
Abstract
Concentrations of soluble solids (SSC) in fruits of Cucumis melo L., cv. PMR 45, were positively correlated with 2 physical measures of soil samples from producing fields: a) the degree of cracking which occurred during dehydration, and b) the rapidity with which water or a CaSC>4 solution percolated the soils. Very low SSC was associated with sandy, non-cracking soils, which in addition permitted only low rates of percolation. Low SSC also was found to be associated with soils having subsurface hardpans or dense subsoil strata, and also with the distance to lower bounds of plant containers and experimentally placed barriers which obstructed downward root growth. SSC, under adverse conditions, varied further as a function of fruit numbers per plant.
The effect of summer cover crop and management system on subsequent fall romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and spring muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) growth and yield was evaluated in the Coachella Valley of California from 1999 to 2003. Cover crop treatments included: 1) cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] incorporated into the soil in the fall (CPI), 2) cowpea used as mulch in the fall (CPM), 3) sudangrass [Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench] incorporated into the soil in the fall (SGI), and 4) a bare ground control (BG). Management system treatments included: 1) conventional system (CON), 2) integrated crop management (ICM), and 3) organic system (ORG). Cowpea cover crop, either incorporated or used as surface mulch, increased lettuce growth and yield by increasing biomass allocation to lettuce leaf and leaf area growth. Cowpea mulch decreased muskmelon leaf and biomass growth and reduced muskmelon yield. Sudangrass produced more biomass than cowpea and reduced lettuce growth and yield. However, in the following spring, the SGI treatment had the highest muskmelon yield. Lettuce growth was significantly affected by management system, while muskmelon growth at the early stage was unaffected. The organic system reduced both lettuce and muskmelon yield compared with CON and ICM management systems.
Abstract
Feeding of pickle worm Diaphania nitidalis (Stoll), on muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) differed, but more definitive laboratory testing under controlled condition is needed to determine if usable resistance mechanisms are involved. Few differences were detected in larval feeding on muskmelon seedlings with various characteristics. However, adult pickleworms laid fewer eggs on glabrous muskmelon and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plants than on pubescent ones.
Abstract
N,N-bis(phosphonomethyl)glycine (glyphosine) was sprayed at 0, 200, 400, 800, 1600 ppm on vine foliage of ‘PMR-45’ muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) once about 2 weeks after initial flowering. Branch length and number of leaves were reduced at 1600 ppm. Melon weight was increased at 200 ppm about 6.6%, while soluble solids content was increased at all concentrations above the control about 10%. Both effects were most evident toward the end of the season. Triacontanol, applied at 0.01, 1.0, and 10.0 ppm as a foliar spray at the 8 to 10 leaf stage had no effect on muskmelons.
Abstract
Preharvest application of (2-chloroethyl)phosphonic acid (ethephon) to muskmelon (Cucumis melo L., Reticulatus group) significantly reduced the soluble solids content and the sucrose concentration of fruits harvested at the full-slip stage. Texture and flavor ratings were also reduced. During 5 days at 20°C, the flesh of fruits from treated plants softened more rapidly and was more aromatic than the fruits from untreated plants.
Abstract
Muskmelons (Cucumis melo L.) at standard harvest maturities tolerated mechanical stresses, such as dropping 90-120 cm or squeezing with 31.8 kg force, without showing increased damage rates. There were no important differences found between 4 cultivars and 1 breeding line.