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Root distribution patterns of reticulatus and inodorus melon (Cucumis melo L.) under subsurface deficit irrigation

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Abstract

Information on root growth patterns is crucial to understand cultivar adaptations to deficit irrigation, particularly for subsurface drip-irrigated crops, where root systems are more confined than furrow or sprinkler systems. A 2-year field experiment evaluated the effect of deficit irrigation (50% vs. 100% crop evapotranspiration, ETc) on root growth of melon (Cucumis melo L.) cultivars (Mission, Da Vinci, and Super Nectar) on a mollisol soil in southwestern Texas, USA. Root length intensity (La; mm cm−2), and root length density (RLD; cm cm−3) were measured at different growth stages using the minirhizotron and soil core methods, respectively. A higher La was recorded in 2012 than in 2011 (3.71 mm cm−2 vs. 0.50 mm cm−2), due to differences in temporal distribution of rainfall between years. Overall, deficit irrigation increased La as compared to 100% ETc, but significant effects occurred at depth (> 40 cm below the soil surface and > 25 cm below the subsurface drip tape). In 2012, moderate water deficit promoted deep root growth at the fruit setting stage but not in 2011, while root growth responses to cumulative deficit varied with cultivar. In 2012, deficit irrigation enhanced root growth in cv. Mission (cantaloupe; reticulatus) throughout the season, it was maintained in cv. Da Vinci (Tuscan; reticulatus), while it decreased in cv. Super Nectar (honeydew; inodorus) at the final harvest stage. Thus, the reticulatus melon cvs. Mission and Da Vinci can better adjust to moderate water-deficit conditions as compared to the inodorus melon cv. Super Nectar. Minirhizotron data provided useful information on root growth dynamics in deeper soil layers in a non-destructive way, which makes it a valuable tool in screening cultivars for water deficit adaptation.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA No. 504610-80980), “Production and Marketing Strategies for melons and artichokes”. Cultivars seeds were supplied by Seminis and Sakata Seeds. We acknowledge the support of Chenping Xu, Manuel Figueroa-Pagán, Juan Esquivel, and Ezequiel Cardona for their technical assistance in the field and laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Texas A&M University, 1619 Garner Field Road, Uvalde, TX, 78801, USA

    Sat Pal Sharma & Daniel I. Leskovar

  2. Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Astrid Volder

  3. Department of Horticultural Sciences, TAMU 2133, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Kevin M. Crosby

  4. Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, 2474 TAMU, Texas A&M University, College Station, 77843, USA

    A. M. H. Ibrahim

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  1. Sat Pal Sharma
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  2. Daniel I. Leskovar
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  5. A. M. H. Ibrahim
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Correspondence to Daniel I. Leskovar.

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Communicated by I. Dodd.

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Sharma, S.P., Leskovar, D.I., Volder, A. et al. Root distribution patterns of reticulatus and inodorus melon (Cucumis melo L.) under subsurface deficit irrigation. Irrig Sci 36, 301–317 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-018-0587-7

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