Productive response of melon under different water depths and nitrogen levels.

Although the Piaui State has good soil and climatic conditions for the cultivation of melon, there are few technical and scientific information of the correct amount of water and nitrogen fertilizer for melon crop which represents better return economic. Thus, this study evaluated the response of the production in melon after application of different depths of water and nitrogen fertilizer on the soil and climate conditions of Teresina, Piaui State. The statistical design was a randomized blocks design with split plots and four blocks. The parcels were five levels of irrigation (L1, L2, L3, L4 and L5), corresponding to 0.35; 0.7; 1.0; 1.5 and 2.0 times crop evapotranspiration (ETc), respectively. The subplots contained four nitrogen levels (N0, N1, N2 and N3), corresponding to 0, 75, 150 and 300 kg ha-1 N, respectively. We used the melon hybrid "Goldex", planted in a row spacing of 2.0 m between row and 0.25 m between plants. We found that water and nitrogen factors have a significant effect on productivity melon, while the interaction between the factors is no significative. The estimated maximum productivity was 28752.3 kg ha-1, with the application of 675 mm of water and 199.1 kg ha-1 of nitrogen. Already the maximum estimated net income (R$ 4,247.60) was obtained with productivity level of 28,517.50 kg ha-1 using 597.1 mm of water and 198.3 kg ha-1 of nitrogen. Additional keywords: Cucumis melo L.; evapotranspiration; localized irrigation. Cientifica, Jaboticabal, v.44, n.2, p.217-225, 2016 ISSN: 1984-5529