PRODUCTION AND QUALITY OF IRRIGATED MELON CULTIVARS IN ORGANIC PRODUCTION SYSTEM

Background. The melon plant is herbaceous annual plant with a large social and economic relevance in Brazil, specially to the Northeast in of the country. Given the importance of this culture to the region, there is enormous demand for information trying to define a productive system that presents cost-saving, increases productivity, and achieve the minimum standards of fruit quality. In this scenario, a lot of researches were made as a way of trying to potentialize the organic production systems. Objective. The purpose of this work was to verify the different melon cultivars/types behavior, when it comes to the quality and production when cultivated under irrigation in organic production system. Methodology. The work was developed between the months of July and October in 2014, in the Hortvida rural propriety. The experimental design was a randomized block with treatments applied to seven different types of melon (Zelala Harpér, Magisto F1 Cant, Medellín Pele de Sapo, Hibrix F1 Amarelo, Yelogal F1 Gália, Magritte F1” and Solarnet Gália) with four repetitions. Morphological, qualitative and yield characteristics of melon fruits were analyzed. Results. The highest yields were obtained for cultivars Medellín Pele de Sapo (45.19 t ha-1) and Hibrix F1 Amarelo (34.24 t ha-1). Implications. The system of organic production of irrigated melon in the semiarid region of Rio Grande do Norte maintained the productivity of most cultivars above 25 t ha-1, however, the content of soluble solids was higher for only three cultivars. Conclusions. The cultivar Medellín Pele de Sapo was the most productive one, but it also presented low soluble solids content.