Produção e qualidade de melancia cultivada com água de diferentes salinidades e doses de nitrogênio

The use of saline waters in the agriculture is one of the main factors that limit the production and the fruit quality in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, being the selection of tolerant hybrids to salinity and the use of the nitrogen fertilization, alternatives to avoid losses in income and quality of the fruits. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the production and the quality of the fruits of three cultivars of watermelon (Quetzali, Shadow and Leopard) under different salinities of irrigation water and doses of nitrogen in the region of Mossoro, RN. The treatments consisted in the application of irrigation water with five electrical conductivities (0.57; 1.36; 2.77; 3.86 e 4.91 dS m-1) and three doses of nitrogen (48, 96 e 144 kg ha-1), delineated in randomized blocks, with four replications. The productivity, the number and the mean weight of fruits, as well as the content of soluble solids were evaluated. The mean weight of fruits and the number of fruits affected the loss of income of studied watermelons cultivars. Only the Shadow cultivar had the soluble solids content of fruits altered with the salinity of irrigation water.