مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - The effect of organic and ınorganic fertilizer sources on phytochemical content of the Honeydew production

Abstract :

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is one of the important species of Cucurbitaceae family and commonly cultivated in many parts of the world with the economic importance. This species have very rich variations. Honeydew (var. inodorus) which is within the Muskmelon group is one of them. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers sources on yield and quality performance of six different varieties of honeydew melon ( Spring Dew , Dew Summer , Fall Dew , Honey Pearl , Honey Orange , Snow Leopard ). For this purpose, greenhouse grown seedlings were planted in the open field with randomized block design with two treatments and four replications. Prior to planting which is divided into strips were applied 150 kg/ha nitrogen from two different sources; organic nitrogen (manure) and inorganic (ammonium sulphate) fertilizer. Result of the study exhibited that fertilizer sources were displayed different responses on the plants. Treatment and cultivar interaction was not significant according to analysis of variance. In addition, there was no effect of the application on the parameters studied. However, cultivars were significantly yield and quality parameters. TSS content was ranged between 13.7 to 10.8%. The highest phenolic content was observed in Honey Pearl (291.3 μg GAE/g) and Spring Dew (368.7 μg GAE/g). Variety of Honey Orange that has light orange flesh color had the highest content of TEAC and FRAP values, while same variety had the lowest phenolic content among the varieties. The results of present study show that fertilizer sources have no significant effect on yield and quality of honeydew. In this case, considering the environmental pollution, plant and human health issues, using manure for honeydew production could be beneficial.