Facebook
X (Twitter)
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
Delicious
LinkedIn
StumbleUpon
Nutrient Management Research Database
General Information
Research Title
Research Specifications
Authors
Summary/Abstract from Original Source
California melon (Cucumis melo) growers commonly apply calcium (Ca) fertilizers during fruit development to increase fruit firmness and improve storage life. Drip-irrigated field trials were conducted in central California in 2005 and 2006 to evaluate the efficacy of this practice on honeydew (C. meloInodorus group) and muskmelon (C. melo Reticulatus group). In the 2005 honeydew trial, three weekly applications of 10 lb/acre Ca from calcium nitrate (CN), calcium thiosulfate (CTS), or calcium chloride (CC) were injected into the irrigation system during early melon development. In the 2006 muskmelon trial, two applications of 15 lb/acre Ca from CTS or CC were made early, or two applications of CC late, in melon development. The effect of these Ca fertigation treatments on fruit yield, soluble solids concentration, flesh firmness, and Ca concentration were compared with an untreated control receiving no Ca fertigation. Calcium fertigation had no effect on marketable yield, quality, or Ca concentration of honeydew or muskmelon fruit regardless of application timing or Ca source applied. Loss of firmness during either 2 weeks (honeydew) or 1 week (muskmelon) of postharvest storage was unrelated to Ca fertigation treatment and was not correlated with Ca concentration in fruit tissue. We conclude that under conditions representative of the California melon industry, Ca fertigation at typical application rates is ineffective in improving honeydew or muskmelon yield or fruit quality.
Research Highlights
Design and Methods
- A two year field study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of three calcium fertigation practices on fruit yield and quality in honeydew and muskmelon.
- In the first year of the study, honeydew melons received three fertigations per week of either calcium thiosulfate (CTS), calcium nitrate (CN), or calcium chloride (CC) during early fruit development. Each application consisted of 10 lbs Ca/ac.
- In the second year of the study, muskmelons received ETC or one of two CC treatments. The additional CC treatment (late CC) was initaited 1 week after the concluison of the CTS and CC applciations. All treatments consisted of 15 lbs Ca/ac.
Results
- Calcium fertigation had no effect on marketable yield or fruit number of either honey or muskmelon.
- Average marketable yield was 1308 cartons/ac for honeydew and and 1246 cartons/ac for muskmelon. These yields were almost twice as high as industry averages.
- These high yields were attributed to the use of buried drip lines.
- Cacium fertigation also had no effect on fruit quality, both at harvest and after storage.
Other Considerations
This study suggests that standard parctice of Ca fertilization had little to no effect on melon yield.
Additional Information
Tags (links to other subject matter in database)
Related Research in Fresno, Yolo Counties
- Local Diffusion Networks Act as Pathways to Sustainable Agriculture in the Sacramento River Valley (Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Glenn, Sacramento, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Yolo)
- Processing Tomato Production in California (Colusa, Fresno, Kings, Merced, San Joaquin, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Yolo)
- Development of a Nitrogen Fertilizer Recommendation Model to Improve N-Use Efficiency and Alleviate Nitrate Pollution to Groundwater From Almond Orchards (Colusa, Yolo)
- Iceberg Lettuce Production in California (Contra Costa, Fresno, Imperial, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Ventura)
- Tillage and cover cropping affect crop yields and soil carbon in the San Joaquin Valley, California (Fresno)
- Subsurface drip irrigation of row crops: a review of 15 years of research at the Water Management Research Laboratory (Fresno)
- On-Farm assessment of Soil Quality in California's Central Valley (Fresno)
- Effect of Irrigation Frequency on Subsurface Drip Irrigated Vegetables (Fresno)
- Excess nitrogen raises nectarine susceptibility to disease and insects (Fresno)
- Precision overhead irrigation is suitable for several Central Valley crops (Fresno)
- Onion Growth, Yield, and Production Costs as Affected by Irrigation System (Fresno)
- Leaf Lettuce Production in California (Fresno, Kern, Kings, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz)
- Nitrogen Mineralization Potential as Influenced by Microbial Biomass, Cotton Residues and Temperature (Fresno, Kings)
- Detecting and Correcting Soil Calcium Limitations (Fresno, Monterey, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Yolo)
- Role of green waste compost in the production of N2O from agricultural soils (Fresno, Monterey, Solano)
- Quantifying the Effects of Green Waste Compost Application, Water Content and Nitrogen Fertilization on Nitrous Oxide Emissions in 10 Agricultural Soils (Fresno, Monterey, Solano, Stanislaus, Yolo)
- Soil sampling protocol reliably estimates preplant NO3- in SDI tomatoes (Fresno, San Joaquin, Yolo)
- Modeling shows that alternative soil management can decrease greenhouse gases (Fresno, Yolo)
- Potassium Fertilization and Diagnostic Criteria for Pistachio Trees (Glenn, Madera, Yolo)
- Effects of Potassium Fertilization on Soil Potassium Distribution and Balance in Pistachio Orchards (Madera, Yolo)
- Winter cover crops before late-season processing tomatoes for soil quality and production benefits (Sutter, Yolo)
- Reduced nitrous oxide emissions and increased yields in California tomato cropping systems under drip irrigation and fertigation (Yolo)
- Humic substances generally ineffective in improving vegetable crop nutrient uptake or productivity (Yolo)
- Cover cropping affects soil N(2)O and CO(2) emissions differently depending on type of irrigation (Yolo)
- Precision Fertigation in Orchards: Development of a Spatially Variable Microsprinkler System (Yolo)
- Higher flexibility in input N:P ratios results in more balanced phosphorus budgets in two long-term experimental agroecosystems (Yolo)
- Assessing drivers of N2O production in California tomato cropping systems (Yolo)
- An estimation of annual nitrous oxide emissions and soil quality following the amendment of high temperature walnut shell biochar and compost to a small scale vegetable crop rotation (Yolo)
- Tightly-Coupled Plant-Soil Nitrogen Cycling: Comparison of Organic Farms across an Agricultural Landscape (Yolo)
- Nitrogen and carbon mineralization dynamics of manures and composts (Yolo)
- Who's your Farmer California? Cover cropping with Martin Burger (Yolo)
- Mustard cover crops are ineffective in suppressing soilborne disease or improving processing tomato yield (Yolo)
- Transitioning from standard to minimum tillage: Trade-offs between soil organic matter stabilization, nitrous oxide emissions, and N availability in irrigated cropping systems (Yolo)
- Tillage and seasonal emissions of CO2, N20 and NO across a seed bed and at the field scale in a Mediterranean climate (Yolo)
- Changes in soil chemical properties resulting from organic and low-input farming practices (Yolo)
- Processing Tomato Yield and Fruit Quality Improve with Potassium Fertigation (Yolo)
- Nitrogen Requirements of Drip-irrigated Processing Tomatoes (Yolo)
- Site Specific Farming Information Systems in Tomato-Based Rotation in the Sacramento Valley (Yolo)
- Microbial responses and nitrous oxide emissions during wetting and drying of organically and conventionally managed soil under tomatoes (Yolo)
- The effect of nitrogen source and crop rotation on the growth and yield of processing tomatoes (Yolo)
- Nitrogen supply effects on partitioning of dry matter and nitrogen to grain of irrigated wheat (Yolo, Fresno)