The objective of this research was to study the effect of different levels of irrigation and nitrogen fertilization applied to watermelon crop and to establish a production function aimed at economic optimization of the yield based on the costs of water and fertilizer. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks with split plots combining five irrigation water levels (312.1, 288.5, 252.6, 205.2 and 142.5 mm) and four levels of fertilization (0, 75, 150 and 300 kg ha-1) with four replications. The watermelon cultivar Crimson Sweet was used and the irrigations were monitored by tensiometers installed at 0.15 m of depth. The irrigation was applied when the soil matric potential reached -30 kPa. The maximum productivity of 64,908.9 kg ha-1 was obtained by the treatment that received 227.3 mm of water and 229.8 kg ha-1 of nitrogen. The substitution of water for nitrogen was found to be not advantageous from the economic point of view. The optimum economic water use was estimated to be 27.2 kg m-3 or 272 kg ha-1 mm-1, corresponding to 242.7 kg ha-1 of nitrogen.
Citrullus lanatus Thumb. Mansf.; production function; irrigation
