Effect of deficit irrigation at different growth stages of two Iranian melon accessions ‎on growth, yield, fruit quality and water use efficiency ‎

Document Type : Full Paper

Authors

1 M.Sc. Student, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Iran

Abstract

To evaluate the effect of  deficit  irrigation stress at different growth stages of two Iranian melon accessions  on growth, yield and fruit quality, a split- split plot experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replications at University of Zanjan. Treatments were consisted of deficit irrigation in three levels (100, 80 and 60% ETc) as main plot, stage of water deficit application in two levels (flowering and 20 days after flowering (fruit development stage) as sub plot and melon accession in two levels (Khatooni and Ivanaki) as sub-sub plot. The results showed that deficit irrigation stress were conducted at two growth stages, reduced growths index and yield. The lowest leaf area, plant height, total plant yield (6.72 kg), marketable plant yield (5.47 kg), fruit flesh percentage (50.7%) and vitamin C (1.48 mg/100 ml were obtained under  60% ETc at flowering stage. The highest value of TSS was obtained in “Khatooni” (12.04%) and “Ivanaki” (11.42%)” by applying 80% ETc at flowering stage. The highest value of water use efficiency (WUE), was achieved in “Ivanaki” and “Khatooni under 80% ETc at flowering and” 20 days after flowering stage, respectively. The Ivanki accession showed higher tolerance to water deficit. According to the results, applying 80% ETc at the flowering stage improved the fruit TSS and resulted in 40% water usage, while reduced 6.61% of fruit yield.

Keywords


  1. Ascher, R.G. & Cumming, J.R. (1991). Stress responses in plants: Adaptation and acclimation mechanisms. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 66, 343-344.
  2. Ashraf, M. (2010). Inducing drought tolerance in plants: Recent advances. Biotechnology Advance, 28, 169-183.
  3. Barzegar, T., Delshad, M., Majdabadi, A., Kashi, A. & Ghashghaei, J. (2011). Effects of Water Stress on Yield, Growth and some Physiological Parameters in Iranian Melon. Iranian Journal of Horticultural Science, 42(4), 357-363. (in Farsi)
  4. Beaulieu, J.C. & Lea, J.M. (2007). Quality changes in cantaloupe during growth, maturation, and in stored fresh-cut cubes prepared from fruit harvested at various maturities. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 132(5), 720-728.‏
  5. Beaulieu, J.C., Lea, J.M., Eggleston, G. & Peralta-Inga, Z. (2003). Sugar and organic acid variations in commercial cantaloupes and their inbred parents. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 128(4), 531-536.
  6. Bota, J., Flexas, J. & Medrano, H. (2004).Is photosynthesis limited by decreased Rubisco activity and RuBP content under progressive water stress? New Phytolgist, 162, 671-681.
  7. Cui, N., Du, T., Kang, S., Li, F., Zhang, J., Wang, M. & Li, Z. (2008). Regulated deficit irrigation improved fruit quality and water use efficiency of pear-jujube trees. Agricultural Water Management, 95(4), 489-497.‏
  8. Daneshmand, F. (2014). The effect of ascorbic acid on reduction of oxidative stress caused by salinity in potato. Journal of plant Researches (Iranian Journal of Biology), 27(3), 417-426. (in Farsi)
  9. Delshad, M., Barzegar, T., Kashi, A. & Haghbin, K. (2013). Effect of Fruit site on the Stalk upon Yield and Fruit Quality in two Iranian Melon Cultivars under Normal vs. Water Stress Conditions. Iranian Journal of Horticultural Science, 44(2), 169-178. (in Farsi)
  10. El-hady, O.A. & Wanas, Sh.A. (2006). Water and fertilizer use efficiency by cucumber grown under stress on sandy soil treated with acryl amid hydrogels. Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 2 (12), 1293-1297.
  11. Fabeiro, C., Martín, N.F. & Juan, J.A. (2002). Production of muskmelon (cucumis melo L.) under controlled deficit irrigation in semi-arid climate. Agricultural Water Management, 54, 93-105.
  12. Foyer, C.H., Valadier, M., Migge, A. & Becker, T. (1998). Drought-induced effects on nitrate reductase activity and mRNA on the coordination of nitrogen and carbon metabolism in maize leaves. Plant Physiology, 177, 283-292.
  13. Hakiminia, E., Bolandnazar, S. & Tabatabaei, S.J. (2013). Deficit irrigation during different growing stages affects growth characteristics, yield and water use efficiency of onion. Agricultural Science and Sustainable Production,23(3), 11-27. (in Farsi)
  14. Heydarian, N. (2016). Assessment of water deficit stress tolerance in some Iranian melon (Cucumis melo L.) accessions. M.Sc. Thesis. Faculty of Agriculture University of Zanjan, Iran. (In Farsi).
  15. Heydarian, N., Barzegar, T. & Ghahremani, Z. (2017). Effect of water deficit stress on growth, yield, fruit quality and water use efficiency of some Iranian melon accessions. Agricultural Crop Management, 19(2), 287-302. (in Farsi)
  16. Hussain, M., Malik, M.A., Farooq, M., Ashraf, M.Y. & Cheema, M.A. (2008). Improving drought tolerance by exogenous application of glycinebetaine and salicylic acid in sunflower. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 194(3), 193-199.‏
  17. Imam, Y. & Zavarehi, M. (2005). Drought tolerance in Higher plants (Genetically, Physiological and Molecular Biological Analysis). Academic Publishing Center of Tehran, Iran. 186 pp. (in Farsi)
  18. Javanpour, A., Salehi-Mohammadi, R., Nejadsahebi, M. & Moosavi, J. (2015). Evaluation of quality and quantity of three accessions of grafted and non-grafted of Iranian melon. Iranian Journal of Horticultural Science, 46(1), 169-178. (in Farsi)
  19. Kader, A.A. (2008). Flavor quality of fruits and vegetables. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 88(11), 1863-1868.‏
  20. Kafi, M., Borzoi, A., Salehi, M., Kamandi, A., Masomi, A. & Nabati, J. (2009). Environmental stress physiology in plants. (pp155). Jahad Mashhad University Press. (in Farsi)
  21. Kashi, A. & Abedi, B. (1998). Investigation on the effects of pruning and fruit thinning on the yield and fruit quality of melon cultivars (Cucumis melo L.). Irannian Journal of Agricultural Science. 29(3), 619-626. (in Farsi)
  22. Keshavars, L., Farahbakhsh, H. & Golkar, P. (2012). The effects of drought stress and absorbent polymer on morph-physiological traits of Pear Millet. International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences. 3 (1), 148-154.
  23. Kesiime, V.E. (2014). Inheritance of tolerance to drought from selected potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivars in Uganda. Ph.D. Thesis. Faculty of Agriculture Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
  24. Kumari, S. (1988). The effect of soil moisture stress on the development and yield of millet. Agronomy Journal, 57, 480-487.
  25. Kyriacou, M.C., Leskovar, D.I., Colla, G. & Rouphael, Y. (2018). Watermelon and melon fruit quality: The genotypic and agro-environmental factors implicated. Scientia Horticulture, 234, 393-408.
  26. Liu, L., Kakihara, F. & Kato, M. (2004). Characterization of six varieties of Cucumis melo L. based on morphological and physiological characters, including shelf-life of fruit. Euphytica, 135(3), 305.‏
  27. Long, R.L., Walsh, K.B., Midmore, D.J. & Rogers, G. (2006). Irrigation scheduling to increase muskmelon fruit biomass and soluble solids concentration. HortScience, 41(2), 367-369.‏
  28. Long, R.L., Walsh, K.B., Rogers, G. & Midmore, D.M. (2004). Source Source-sink manipulation to increase melon fruit biomass and soluble sugar content. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, 55, 1241-1251.
  29. Long, R.L., Walsh, K.B., Rogers, G. & Midmore, D.J. (2005). Source–sink manipulation to increase melon (Cucumis melo L.) fruit biomass and soluble sugar content. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, 55(12), 1241-1251.‏
  30. Lotfi, H., Barzegar, T., Rabiei, V., Ghahramani, Z. & Nikbakht, J. (2016). Evaluation the effect of water stress on fruit quality and quantity of some Iranian melons. Agricultural Crop Management, 18(1), 157-171. (in Farsi).
  31. Madhava Roa, K.V., Raghavendra, A.S. & Janardhan Reddy, K. (2006). Physiology and molecular biology of stress tolerance in plant. (pp.15-39.) Springer Science.
  32. Munger, H.M. & Robinson, R.W. (1991). Nomenclature of Cucumis melo L. cucurbit genet.‏ Cooperative Reputation, 14, 53.
  33. Pessark, M. (1999). Handbook of plant and crop stress. (pp 697.) Marcle Dekker Inc.
  34. Pew, W.D & Gardner, B.R. (1983). Effects of irrigation practices on vine growth, yield and quality of muskmelons. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Sciences, 108, 134-137.
  35. Pourranjbari Saghaiesh, S., & Souri M.K. (2018). Root growth characteristics of Khatouni melon seedlings as affected by potassium nutrition, Hortorum Cultus, 17(5), 191-198.
  36. Pourranjbari Saghaiesh, S., Souri M.K. & Moghaddam, M. (2018). Effects of different magnesium levels on some morphophysiological characteristics and nutrient elements uptake in Khatouni melons (Cucumis melo var. inodorus). Journal of Plant Nutrition, 41(20), 1-13.
  37. Rahemi, M. (2008). Postharvest: an introduction to the physiology handling of fruit vegetables & ornamentals. (pp 200.). Shiraz University Press. (In Farsi).
  38. Reddy, A.R., Chaitanya, K.V. & Vivekanandam, M. (2004). Drought-induced responses of photosynthesis and antioxidant metabolism in higher plant. Journal of Plant Physiology, 161(11), 1189-1202.
  39. Ripoll, J., Urban, L., Staudt, M., Lopez-Lauri, F., Bidel, L.P. & Bertin, N. (2014). Water shortage and quality of fleshy fruits-making the most of the unavoidable. Journal of Experimental Botany, 65(15), 4097-4117.
  40. Rojas, M.M., Crosby, K.M. & Louzada, E.S. (2002). Differential gene expression analysis in melon roots under drought stress conditions. Plant Science, 54, 6-10.‏
  41. Sarker, B.C., Hara, M. & Uemura, M. (2005). Proline synthesis, physiological responses and biomass yield of eggplants during and after repetitive soil moisture stress. Scientia Horticulturae, 103(4), 387-402.‏
  42. Sharma, S.P., Leskovar, D.I., Crosby, K.M., Volder, A. & Ibrahim, A.M.H. (2014). Root growth, yield, and fruit quality responses of reticulatus and inodorus melons (Cucumis melo L.) to deficit subsurface drip irrigation. Agricultural Water Management, 136, 75-85.
  43. ‏Souri, M.K. (2016). Aminochelate fertilizers: the new approach to the old problem; a review. Open Agriculture, 1, 118-123.
  44. Vaziri, J., Salamat, A., Heidari, N. & Dehghani-sanich, H. (2008). Crop Evapotranspiration (Guidelines for Computing Crop Water Requirements). (Translated) (pp 250.). Iranian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (IRNCID) Press, Tehran. (in Farsi)
  45. Zeng, C.Z., Bie, Z.L. & Yuan, B.Z. (2009). Determination of optimum irrigation water amount for drip-irrigated muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) in plastic greenhouse. Agricultural Water Management, 96(4), 595-602.