Comparison of Yield and Fruit Quality between Different Melon Varieties using Fertigation Approach

• Main Author: Catherine, Lim Jiaxin
• Format: Final Year Project Report
• Language: English; English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, (UNIMAS) 2022
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/39557/1/CATHERINE%20LIM%20JIAXIN%2024pgs.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/39557/4/CATHERINE%20LIM%20JIAXIN%20ft.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/39557/

The melon, Cucumis melo L. is a species known as most diverse in the genus Cucumis, with widely varying morphological fruit traits. This study involves nine varieties (n=7) of Cucumis melo L. that are classified as dessert fruit melon types. They are cultivated within a duration of 3 months. Fertigation method was applied to cultivate the melon plants in a greenhouse with the amount of nutrients and water supplied under control. Variety B was found to yield the best fruits in terms of weight (1.442kg), transverse (44.76cm) and longitudinal (45.95cm) circumferences, and highly preferred qualitative traits in terms of sweetness (4.143, n=7) and appearance (4.714, n=7), as well as a high percentage of yield per plant (80.77%). Cucumis melo L.varieties under the cultivar group reticulatus have greater sizes compared to varieties of cantalupensis. Further studies can be conducted in the future with improved methodologies involving sensory and instrumental evaluations for more detailed observations on preferred fruit traits. Effects of different fertilizer concentration towards plant growth and fruit yield, disease resistance, and sugar and nutrient content may also be explored on the preferred melon varieties.