QUALITY OF MELON GROWN UNDER DIFFERENT SALINITY LEVELS OF IRRIGATION WATER

This work was carried out at Mossoro-RN, Brazil, to evaluate the effect of the increase of water irrigation salinity level on melon fruit quality. During two production cycles four irrigation water salinity levels were applied to the plots (S-1 = 0.6, S-2 = 1.9, S-3 = 3.2 and S-4 = 4.5 dS m(-1)), both continuously or being increased at different stages of development. This scheme resulted in 15 treatments arranged in an entirely randomized blocks design with four replications. Effects studied were the salinity levels, the stage of development in which they were applied, and storage time of fruits. Variables pulp fruit firmness, total soluble solids, fruit juice electrical conductivity (CEf), pH, and fruit weight loss were not affected by salinity levels, neither when used continuously nor when it was increased at different development stages. Water salinity levels did not affect fruit quality variables neither when analyzed on harvest day nor 35 days after harvest, except for CEf that, on harvest day, increased linearly with the increase in water salinity level.