The Quantitative And Qualitative Characteristics Of Melon Fruit Under Drought Stress Condition By Using Manure And Bentonite

A large part of Iran is affected by arid and semi-arid climate and drought has caused many problems in the agricultural sector. The present study aimed to investigate the characteristics of melon under drought stress conditions using manure and bentonite.

This experiment was conducted as a split-factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications in Hirmand city during the two cropping years of 2019-2020. Plants irrigated after 25, 50, and 75% of soil moisture depletion which considered as the main plot; and bentonite application (2, 3, and 4 ton/ha); and animal manure (20, 30, and 40 ton/ha) were used as subplots.

According to the results, in the first year of experiment, fruit yield increased by 2.02 times compared to the control under 50% soil moisture depletion with the application of 4 ton/ha of bentonite with 20 ton/ha of animal manure. Also, the leaf area index increased by 5.61 times, and the amount of glucose increased by 2.01 times compared to the control under 25% soil moisture depletion and application of 3 ton/ha of bentonite and 40 ton/ha of animal manure.

To achieve maximum fruit yield, irrigation after 50% soil moisture depletion, application of 4 ton/ha of bentonite, and 20 ton/ha of animal manure for cultivation in the region is recommended.