Response of Cantaloupe Yield, Yield Components and Quality to Irrigation Rates and Soil Amendments Under Drip Irrigation in Calcareous Soils

A two-season field experiment was carried out in the newly reclaimed calcareous soils of the Horticulture Research Station at Nubaria region during 2010 and 2011 summer seasons. The objectives of this research were to study the effect of two irrigation rates and five soil amendments treatments on cantaloupe yield, yield components, and quality as well as amounts of applied irrigation water and water use efficiency. The treatments were assessed in a split plot design with three replicates, where the tested irrigation rates e.g. 100 and 80% ETc were represented in the main plots, while and the five soil amendment treatments (control without any soil amendments, organic matter (20 mfed), organic matter + polymer (0.1% on mass basis) +, organic matter + organic matter+ taflah (0.2% on mass basis) and organic matter+ polymer + taflah +) were allocated to the subplots. The obtained results showed that:1The growth parameters e.g. number of branches 98 and branch length were significantly affected by the adopted irrigation rates and soil amendment treatments. Irrigation regime 100% ETc exhibited the highest values for both growth traits, comparable with 80% ETc regime. The soil amendment treatments (OM +Tafla) and (OM + Tafla+ Polymer) resulted in the higher figures of Number of branches plant in first and second seasons, respectively. Branch length trait was the highest with (OM + T + P) soil conditioner treatment in the first and second seasons.2Average number of fruits plant was increased with 80% ETc regime in the first and second seasons compared with 100% ETc regime. Average Fruit weight plant exhibited different trend, where the values were increased under100% ETc regime, in the first and second seasons, comparing with 80% ETc regime. The soil amendment treatment (OM +Tafla+ Polymer) attained the highest figures of number of fruits plant and fruit weight plant, in first and second seasons.3-Irrigation regime (80% ETc) insignificantly increased total fresh yield of cantaloupe crop, comparable with 100% ETc in the first and second seasons. The adopted soil amendment treatments revealed significant influence to affect total fresh yield of cantaloupe, and (OM + Tafla+ Polymer) resulted in the highest figures reached to 16.36 and 14.77 t/fed, respectively, in the first and second seasons.4The TSS exhibited a reversed response with the assessed irrigation rates, and increased with lower irrigation rate and vice versa and such trend was true in the first and second seasons. The highest figurers of TSS were recorded with (OM + Tafla) treatment, in the first and second seasons.5Applied Irrigation Water during 2007 and 2008 seasons were 1342 and 1074 m/fed for 100% and 80% ETc regimes, respectively, and the peak of applied water was during fruit formation stage (July). Water use efficiency (WUE) values were increased with 80% ETc regime, comparable with 100% ETc regime. The soil amendment treatment (OM+ Tafla+ Polymer) was superior to improve WUE for cantaloupe in comparison with the others soil amendment treatments.6-Based on the obtained results, it is advisable to irrigate cantaloupe crop with amount of water equals to 80% ETc and supplying the soil conditioner composed of (tafla + organic matter + polymer) to attain the highest fruit yield, growth parameters, yield components, fruit quality, as well as improved water productivity of cantaloupe crop under the circumstances of the present research work.