The effect of fruit load and of saline concentrations in nutrient solution recirculating, was evaluated on the growth of melon plants cultivated under protected cultivation and in raw rice husk, during the months February to May of 2003. Three numbers of fruits/plant (2, 3 and 4) and three saline concentrations of the nutrient solution (1,9; 2,3 and 2,9 dS m-1) were studied. From the data of dry and fresh matter (DM and FM), and of the leaf area accumulated at 62 days after setting, the biomass production and distribution among the different plant parts was established. The fruits comprised from 49 to 55% of the total above-ground DM production, which demonstrated that they are the strongest sinks for assimilates. Increasing the number of fruits reduced the fruit mean weight, with no effect on the production and distribution of total, vegetative and generative DM. However, it slightly increased the fruit and whole aerial plant parts, FM production and partitioning to the fruits. Therefore, the accumulation of water in fruits was not proportional to DM accumulation. The lower saline concentration in the nutrient solution can be indicated for melon cultivation in raw rice husk during the autumn crop-season, because it promotes a similar plant growth to the observed in the highest concentrations.
Cucumis melo; sink; source; soilless cultivation; electrical conductivity; fruit load; dry-matter; fresh matter
