ISSN 1807-1929

Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental

Brazilian Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering
v.28, n.3, e277374, 2024
Campina Grande, PB – http://www.agriambi.com.br – http://www.scielo.br/rbeaa

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v28n3e277374 Original Article

Development and quality of melon fruits grown under salt stress1

Desenvolvimento e qualidade de frutos de melão amarelo sob estresse salino
Beatriz de A. Araújo2* , Elaine F. Celin3 , Rafael S. da Costa4 ,
Amanda S. F. Calvet4 , Humberto H. de Carvalho5 & Marlos A. Bezerra6
1
Research developed at Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical, Pacajus, CE, Brazil
2
Universidade Federal do Ceará/Centro de Ciências Agrárias/Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
3
Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados/Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias, Dourados, MS, Brazil
4
Universidade Federal do Ceará/Centro de Ciências Agrárias/Departamento de Fitotecnia, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
5
Universidade Federal de Ceará/Centro de Ciências/Departamento de Bioquímica e Molecular Biologia, CE, Brazil
6
Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical/Laboratório de Fisiologia Vegetal, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil

HIGHLIGHTS:
Irrigation water salinity reduces plant growth, but does not interfere with the fruit production of ‘Goldex’ yellow melon.
Irrigation with 4.0 dS m-1 saline water does not impair the post-harvest quality of ‘Goldex’ melon fruits.
Total soluble solids is directly linked to fruit ripening stage and not to water salinity.

ABSTRACT: The need for studies that allow the use of brackish water in irrigated agriculture and the socioeconomic
importance of melon cultivation in Brazil, especially for the Northeast region, which concentrates most of the national
production and faces problems with the availability of good quality water for irrigation, motivated the present study.
In this context, the objective of present study was to evaluate the growth, production and fruit quality of the ‘Goldex’
(yellow-type hybrid F1) melon under salt stress conditions. The experiment was performed in a completely randomized
design, with two salinity levels of irrigation water (0.8 and 4.0 dS m-1) and eight evaluation times (52, 54, 56, 58, 60,
62, 64, and 66 days after transplanting). Variables of plant growth and development, production and quality of melon
fruits were evaluated throughout the cycle. Plants had delayed growth characteristics and less development with the
increase in irrigation water salinity, showing reductions of more than 20% in shoot dry weight, leaf area, number of
branches and length of secondary branches and 16.7% in length of the main branch. In addition, salinity caused a
delay in fruit development and a 16% reduction in final fruit weight, without significantly modifying carbohydrate
and total soluble solids contents. Along the development, there was an increase in the total soluble solids content of
the fruits, especially due to the increment of sucrose at the final stages of development.
Key words: growth inhibition, irrigation, salinity, post-harvest

RESUMO: A necessidade de estudos que possibilitem a utilização de águas salobras na agricultura irrigada e a
importância socioeconômica da cultura do melão no Brasil, especialmente para a região Nordeste, que concentra
a maior parte da produção nacional e apresenta problemáticas com disponibilidade de água de boa qualidade para
irrigação, norteou o presente estudo. Nesse contexto, o objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar o crescimento das
plantas, a produção e a qualidade de frutos do híbrido de melão amarelo ‘Goldex’ (híbrido F1 tipo amarelo) sob
condições de estresse salino. A pesquisa foi conduzida em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, contendo dois
níveis de salinidade da água de irrigação (0,8 e 4,0 dS m-1) e oito épocas de avaliação (52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64 e 66
dias após o transplantio). Foram avaliadas variáveis de crescimento e desenvolvimento das plantas, de produção e
de qualidade dos frutos de melão ao longo do ciclo. As plantas tiveram as características de crescimento retardadas
e menor desenvolvimento em função do aumento da salinidade da água de irrigação, apresentando redução superior
a 20% para a o peso seco da parte aérea, área foliar, número de ramos, comprimento de ramos secundários e 16,7%
para o comprimento do ramo principal. Além disso, a salinidade provocou atraso no desenvolvimento dos frutos
e redução de 16% no seu peso final, sem modificar significativamente os teores de carboidratos e sólidos solúveis
totais. Ao longo do desenvolvimento houve aumento no teor de sólidos solúveis totais dos frutos, especialmente em
função do acréscimo de sacarose nos estádios finais de desenvolvimento.
Palavras-chave: inibição de crescimento, irrigação, salinidade, pós-colheita
• Ref. 277374 – Received 07 Aug, 2023 This is an open-access article
* Corresponding author - E-mail: [email protected] distributed under the Creative
• Accepted 22 Dec, 2023 • Published 03 Jan, 2024 Commons Attribution 4.0
Editors: Toshik Iarley da Silva & Hans Raj Gheyi International License.
2/10 Beatriz de A. Araújo et al.

Introduction The experimental design was completely randomized with

four replications in split-plot, which consisted of two levels of
Melon (Cucumis melo L. - Cucurbitaceae) is a cucurbit electrical conductivity of the irrigation water - (ECw - 0.8 dS
that has morphological characteristics of herbaceous plants, m-1 - control and 4.0 dS m-1 with NaCl) in the main plots and
and its part of interest is the fruit, which is consumed mainly eight evaluations in time as sub-plots (52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62,
fresh (Du et al., 2022). Among the commercial types, the most 64, and 66 days after transplantation - DAT).
traditionally consumed in Brazil is yellow melon, which has
no noticeable aroma, even when ripe (Oliveira et al., 2019). Crop management, irrigation management, fertigation and
The Brazilian Northeast has favorable climatic conditions cultural practices
for melon cultivation, because the high temperature and Seedlings were obtained by sowing yellow melon ‘Goldex’
luminosity allow full development of the fruits and reduce (yellow-type hybrid F1). The seeds were commercially
crop cycle, which causes the region to be considered suitable purchased (TOPSEED, Agristar Ltda, Lot: 065119, germination:
for irrigated cultivation (Valnir Junior et al., 2013; EMBRAPA, 90%, and purity: 99%). The seeds were placed for germination
2017). For these reasons, the region emerges as the main in polypropylene trays with 200 cells containing a substrate
producer and exporter of melon in Brazil, responsible for composed of coconut fiber, peat, and humus (1:1:1 - volume
92% of the national production, with the states of Rio Grande basis). The seedlings were acclimated in a greenhouse and
do Norte and Ceará accounting for 86.9% of the regional irrigated twice a day. After 13 days, when the seedlings had
percentage (IBGE, 2021). two true leaves, they were transplanted to the experimental
Despite the good production results, much of the water area at the end of the day. Four days after the transplant, the
that is used for irrigation in this region has excess salts, which ECw treatments (0.8 and 4.0 dS m-1) were applied.
contributes to the accumulation of salt in the soils and can Prior to planting, basal fertilization was carried out in
cause stress conditions, inhibiting plant growth and reducing the area, based on soil analysis, applying 15 m3 ha-1 of cattle
yield (Li et al., 2019). Initial growth and flowering are the manure, 1.7 kg ha-1 of urea (nitrogen), 20 kg ha-1 of triple
melon development stages most sensitive to salinity; in these superphosphate (phosphorus), and 3.0 kg ha-1 of potassium
stages, salt stress limits gas exchange and the production of chloride (potassium). Fertigation was performed three
photoassimilates, due especially to the difficulty in absorbing times a week, using a nutrient solution prepared in a 20 L
container, applied by a Venturi injector in a bypass system.
and transporting nutrients from the soil, reducing plant growth
The nutrient sources used in fertigation, considering the entire
and yield (Sousa et al., 2020). In this context, to reduce the
plant cycle, were 16.7 kg of urea (nitrogen), 32.6 kg of MAP
effects of salts on the melon crop, one of the strategies is to
(phosphorus and nitrogen) and 32.3 kg of potassium chloride
choose in which stages of the cycle there is less effect on its
(potassium), split and applied in nine weeks. The nutrients
development and productivity.
were distributed according to EMBRAPA’s Melon Production
Thus, the objective of the present study was to evaluate
System (EMBRAPA, 2017).
plant growth, production and fruit quality of the ‘Goldex’
Irrigation was applied using a drip system, with one line of
yellow melon grown under salt stress at different times of
drippers per row, which was covered with double-sided plastic
development. mulching: black side facing down and silver side facing up.
The seedlings were spaced in the cultivation row every 0.8 m.
Material and Methods Crop water requirement was calculated using an electronic
spreadsheet, which considered data collected in an automatic
Location, soil and climate weather station installed near the experimental area, to
The experiment was performed at the Pacajus Experimental determine the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) according
Farm, belonging to Embrapa Tropical Agroindustry, in Pacajus, to the Penman-Monteith methodology proposed by FAO
Ceará, Brazil. The geographical coordinates are 4º 10’ S and (Allen et al., 1998). In addition to the ETo mentioned, the crop
38º 27’ W, at altitude of 60 m, and the soil is classified as coefficients (Kc) for the melon crop, determined specifically for
Quartzipsamment (USDA, 1999), whose characteristics are the conditions of the Ceará state (Miranda et al., 1999), were
presented in Table 1. considered. Crop evapotranspiration (ETc) was calculated as
the product between ETo and Kc. The total irrigation required
Experimental arrangement (TIR) for the melon crop, applied daily, was determined by the
The experimental arrangement consisted of a random product between ETc and percentage of wetted area (PWA)
scheme of eight cultivation rows spaced at 2 m, each containing divided by coefficient of uniformity of distribution (CUD)
26 plants, at spacing of 0.8 m. Two lateral rows were added as of 95.5%. Irrigation time was defined by the product of the
a border, one at the beginning and the other at the end of the spacing between drippers, spacing between rows and TIR,
experimental area. divided by the drip flow rate, in L h-1 (Bernardo et al., 2008).

Table 1. Physical-chemical characteristics of the soil of the experimental area

SB - Sum of exchangeable bases; CEC - Cation exchange capacity; V - Base saturation percentage; m - Aluminum saturation percentage

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 Development and quality of melon fruits grown under salt stress 3/10

The electrical conductivities of irrigation water of 0.8 Quality

and 4.0 dS m-1 were respectively obtained using well water For melon fruit pulp, the total soluble solids content (ºBrix)
available at the Farm with electrical conductivity of 0.8 dS m-1 was evaluated, using a digital refractometer (Atago®) and the
and well water with addition of sodium chloride (NaCl). The color of the fruit pulp was measured by reflectance, using a
amount of salt used to obtain the salinity level was 10 mM of MINOLTA CR 300 colorimeter, with a light source D65 with
NaCl for every 1 dS m-1. Adjustments were performed after 8 mm opening, in the C. I. E. (Commission Internacionale de
measurement with a portable conductivity meter. The solutions L’Eclaraige) standard. Objective color characterization was
were prepared in 5000 L water tanks and pumped to the plants carried out using the CIELAB system (L*a*b*), in which the
by a 0.5 hp motor pump set through PVC pipes with diameter L* axis (brightness) varies from 0 (black) to 100 (white), the a*
of ¾” for main lines and 16 mm for drip lines. The irrigation axis varies from green (- a) to red (+a), and the b* axis varies
lines had Katif pressure-compensating drippers from Revulis® from blue (-b) to yellow (+b) (McGuire, 1992). Furthermore,
(Minas Gerais, BR) with flow rate of 4.0 L h-1 spaced 0.8 m the hue angle was calculated using the expression tan-1 (b*/a*),
apart, corresponding to one dripper per plant. defined as color hue, where °hue values close to 180° represent
greener fruits, which become more yellow as they tend at
Plant growth analysis 90°, and chromaticity, expressed by the equation C = [(a*)2 +
Dry weight of the aerial part (SDW - g), leaf area (LA - (b*)2]1/2, which indicates the intensity of the color, being the
cm2), number of branches (NB), length of the main branch distance from the center to the edge of the diagram (Mattiuz
(LMB - cm) and length of secondary branches (LSB - cm) were & Durigan, 2001).
evaluated along the cycle considering eight development times
(52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64 and 66 days after transplanting). Statistical analysis
The leaf area of all leaves was obtained using a photoelectric Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the data was performed
integrator (LI-3000 LICOR) and the dry weight of the aerial using the F test. Significant means of the saline treatment
part was considered considering the dry matter of the were compared using the Tukey test (p≤0.05) and regression
leaves and branches. The number of agencies was calculated analysis was performed for the harvest time using the computer
considering the sum of the main agency and secondary program SISVAR version 5.8 (Ferreira, 2019). The graphs were
agencies. The length of the main branch and secondary constructed using the SigmaPlot program (version 11.0). The
branches was measured with a measuring tape graduated in multivariate statistical analysis of plant growth and fruit growth
cm. To measure the length of secondary branches, all those and quality data was performed using principal component
with a size ≥ 20 cm were considered. analysis (PCA). Analyses were performed using R statistical
software (R Core Team, 2017).
Fruit analysis
The harvest was conducted at 2-day intervals, commencing Results and Discussion
when the majority of the fruits were fully developed (52, 54, 56,
58, 60, 62, 64, and 66 DAT), selecting only the plants containing The electrical conductivity of water influenced all growth
fruits with predominantly yellow color. This harvesting interval characteristics of melon plants, regardless of the harvest time.
was chosen with the aim of identifying potential post-harvest Evaluations were conducted during the fruiting stage, when
quality changes in the fruits and determining the most suitable the plants had already completed their vegetative development
harvest time for total soluble solids content. The entire plant, and were currently investing their photosynthates in fruit
including the fruits, was harvested. development. Significant variation was observed for the length
of secondary branches (LSB) among different times (Table 2).
Growth Increase in the electrical conductivity of irrigation water
The following variables were measured: number of fruits negatively influenced the variables shoot dry weight, leaf area,
per plant (NF), average fruit weight, on a semi-analytical number of branches, and length of the main branch, causing
scale, with results expressed in g; longitudinal and transverse reductions of 21, 28, 34, and 17%, respectively (Figure 1). These
diameters and pulp thickness in mm, using a digital caliper. reductions confirm the negative influence of the accumulation

Table 2. Summary of analysis of variance of shoot dry weight (SDW), leaf area (LA), number of branches (NB), length of the
main branch (LMB), and length of secondary branches (LSB) of irrigated melon under two electrical conductivity of water -
ECw (0.8 and 4.0 dS m-1) and at eight evaluation times (52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64 and 66 DAT)

DF - degrees of freedom; CV- coefficient of variation; * - Significant at 0.05, ** - significant at 0.01% level of probability and ns - not significant; DAT - Days after transplanting

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4/10 Beatriz de A. Araújo et al.

* Means followed by different letters differ significantly by Tukey test (p<0.05)

Figure 1. Shoot dry weight (SDW), leaf area (LA), number of branches (NB), and length of the main branch (LMB) of melon
as a function of the electrical conductivity of irrigation water (ECw)

of salts in the mesophyll cells of the leaves, the main site of m -1) the plants invested less in vegetative growth, which
synthesis of photosynthetic assimilates. The marked effects of consequently reduced the size of their secondary branches and
high salt concentration on plants cause a reduction in water this is due to the plant’s adaptation to stress, where it tends to
absorption. Consequently, the osmotic gradient of water is guarantee better quality fruit and under these conditions it has
modified between the soil and the plant. By increasing the invested more in fruit development. Regarding the evaluation
salt concentration in the soil, the osmotic potential decreases, times, it adjusted to a quadratic equation, finding a maximum
and the plant’s water absorption may be reduced. Stress and point on the curve of 1584.87 cm at 62.05 DAT, and from that
high salinity cause physiological drought conditions and ionic point there was a decrease, probably due to the senescence of
toxicity that affect plant growth and development (Zhao et some of these branches (Figure 2B).
al., 2020). During harvests, salinity did not affect plant growth,
The reduction in plant growth due to the increase in water contrary to what was observed by Lima et al. (2020) showing a
conductivity (ECw 0.8 to 4.5 dS m-1) corroborate those reported reduction of more than 50% in the stem length of the SV1044
by Lopes et al. (2017), who observed reduced growth and dry hybrid when salinity increased from 0.5 to 5.0 dS m-1. Salinity
matter accumulation in melon plants with increasing salinity tolerance can vary due to genetic factors, developmental stage,
of irrigation water (0.3 to 4.5 dS m-1). The little influence irrigation management, and water quality. Plants also respond
of the development stages on plant growth was due to the differently to salinity under different growing conditions
sampling period, which began at 52 DAT, the age at which (Soares Filho et al., 2016).
the plants were already in full development and from which In the current study, stability was observed at most
they drastically reduce their vegetative development due to evaluation times (Figure 2B), both for plants irrigated with
the high demand for photoassimilates by the fruits in growth water of low (0.8 dS m-1) and high electrical conductivity (4.0
and maturation, which is more evident by changes only in the dS m-1).
length of secondary branches (LSB). On the other hand, growth and development throughout
The length of secondary branches (LSB) was also reduced the cycle was reduced when plants were irrigated with saline
with the increase in ECw, by 36% (Figure 2A). Which means water (4.0 dS m-1). This was possibly due to the fact that salinity
that in conditions of high concentration of NaCl (4.5 dS affects the performance of melon plants, reducing water

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 Development and quality of melon fruits grown under salt stress 5/10

* Significant at 0.05, ** significant at 0.01 probability level. Means followed by different letters differ by Tukey test (p<0.05)
Figure 2. Length of secondary branches (LSB) of melon as a function of the electrical conductivity of irrigation water - ECw
(A) and eight evaluation times (B)

availability and interfering with the ionic balance inside the in leaf area and plant growth caused by salinity led to a lower
cells, causing molecular damage, interruption or retardation supply of photoassimilates to the reproductive buds, which
of growth, and cell death (Sarabi et al., 2017). resulted in a smaller number of fruits produced.
With regard to the variables number of fruits (NF), average When evaluating the influence of salinity on fruit
fruit weight (FW), fruit longitudinal diameter (LD), fruit production, significant reduction was observed only in the
transverse diameter (TD), pulp thickness (PT), and total last stage of development (Figure 3A). According to Lima et
soluble solids content (TSS), the analysis of variance showed al. (2020), reductions in the production and quality of melon
effects of salinity on FW and TD, while the evaluation times fruits are mediated by toxic effect, mainly caused by Na and
did not influence only TD, and there were also effects of the Cl ions, which accumulate in the soil and in melon leaves,
interaction between the factors on NF and FW (Table 3). reducing gas exchange, leading to nutritional imbalance and
In plants grown under irrigation water - ECw (0.8 dS reduction in water absorption (osmotic effect).
m-1), the number of fruits per plant increased throughout the Although the interaction between the factors (electrical
development stages, verifying a maximum point of 4.4 fruits conductivity of water - ECw x evaluation times) had a
at 63 DAT. In plants grown under conditions of irrigation significant influence on fruit weight, these differences were
water - ECw (4.0 dS m-1), found a maximum point of 4.5 fruits observed only at 52 and 62 DAT, when plants irrigated with
at 60 DAT, from that point on there was a decrease (Figure water of ECw= 4.0 dS m-1 had the lowest values. The mean
3A). It should be noted that the total number of fruits does values of fruit weight ranged from 1.129 to 1.433 kg at 52
not translate into number of marketable fruits and that, in and 64 DAT, respectively, with an overall average weight of
commercial orchards, there is a management strategy aimed 1.378.5 kg. For this variable, the regression equations were: y
at avoiding excessive number of fruits per plant (kept around = -5.3276x² + 628.99x - 16982 and R² = 0.19 and y = -4.2854x²
2.0 to 2.5 fruits per plant), which could attenuate this negative + 515.31x - 14172 and R² = 0.32, for ECw of 0.8 and 4.0 dS
effect of salinity. m-1, respectively. As R2 was less than 0.6, the graphs have not
In addition to the data presented above, it was observed that been inserted.
plants irrigated with good quality water continued to produce The fact that irrigation with saline water can enable melon
fruits even at the end of the cycle, highlighting that, although production shows that water of this nature can become a
there was no retardation of vegetative growth, the reductions potential resource for irrigation in areas that do not have good

Table 3. Summary of analysis of variance for the number of fruits (NF), average fruit weight (FW), fruit longitudinal diameter
(LD), fruit transverse diameter (TD), pulp thickness (PT), and total soluble solids content (TSS) of irrigated melon under two
electrical conductivity of water - ECw (0.8 and 4.0 dS m-1) and at eight evaluation times (52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64 and 66 DAT)

DAT - Days after transplanting; DF - degrees of freedom; CV- coefficient of variation; * - Significant at 0.05, ** - significant at 0.01 probability and ns - not significant

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6/10 Beatriz de A. Araújo et al.

* Significant at 0.05, ** significant at 0.01 probability. Means followed by different letters differ by Tukey test (p<0.05)
Figure 3. Number of melon fruits as a function of interaction between irrigation water salinity and evaluation times (A), pulp
thickness (C), and total soluble solids (D) of melon as a function of the evaluation times and transverse diameter (B) as a
function of the electrical conductivity of irrigation water (ECw)

quality water and in semi-arid areas of northeastern Brazil (SR<0.9), spherical (0.9≤SR≤1.1), oblong (1.1≤SR≤1.7 and
affected by water scarcity (Terceiro Neto et al., 2013). In this cylindrical (SR>1.7).
context, the results presented show that saline water can be Regarding the postharvest variables, it was observed that
used to strengthen cultivation of melon in the Northeast. the maximum longitudinal diameter and maximum transverse
Longitudinal diameter differed between the evaluation diameter of the fruits (17.93 and 15.33 cm, respectively) were
times, with higher values at 64 DAT and an average of 143 mm, higher than those obtained by Simões et al. (2016), who
showing an increase of 10% compared to the overall average of observed values of 16.40 and 13.80 cm (for the varieties SF
all evaluations (128 mm). In this case, the quadratic regression 10/00 F1 and Goldmine). Pereira et al. (2021) found values
model was y =0.0597x2 - 7.052x + 335.22, presented R2 = 0.02, higher than those found in this research, with 17.93 cm
and therefore, the graph was not presented. The result found length and 15.33 cm for the width of melon fruits. These
was below those reported by Pereira et al. (2021), who found characteristics are important in the classification of fruits by
maximum longitudinal diameter fruit diameter of 179 mm for type, which corresponds to the number of melons per standard
Gladial melon, and by Simões et al. (2016), who observed value box of 54 x 34 x 17 cm (Pereira et al., 2021). The melons in the
of 164 mm of diameter for the variety AF-682. present study were classified as types 6 or 7 (between 6 and
Transverse diameter (Figure 3B) was influenced by salinity, 7 melons per box), which currently have same preference by
with a reduction of 10% when plants were irrigated with high- domestic and foreign markets (Dantas et al., 2013).
salinity water (4.0 dS m-1). The mean values showed that there The source of nitrogen fertilizer adopted in this study was
was no difference in fruit shape between treatments, with a urea, which may have been one of the causes for the fruits to
flattened shape (shape ratio - SR<0.9), according to the shape have shown length and diameter greater than those recorded
classification proposed by Pedrosa (1982), which determines in the literature. Rodrigues et al. (2019) found increase of up to
SR by calculating the ratio between longitudinal diameter 175% in the biometric parameters of Cantaloupe melon fruits
and transverse diameter, classifying the fruits as: flattened when urea was used as nitrogen source.

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No significant results (p>0.05) were found for pulp within the accepted standard. At 52 and 54 DAT, the fruits have
thickness caused by irrigation water salinity. This result differed not yet completed their maturation and, therefore, have TSS
from that reported by Lima et al. (2020), who evaluated below 9 ºBrix, so harvest for commercialization at this time of
biometric parameters of Cantaloupe melon fruits under salt evaluation is not recommended.
stress conditions and observed that pulp thickness showed a The first two principal components (PC1 and PC2)
behavior inversely proportional to the increase in salinity. The represent 61.80% of the total variance (Figure 4). Principal
authors found pulp thickness values ranging from 28 to 37 component analysis revealed the effects of treatments on
mm for the salinity levels of 5.0 and 0.5 dS m-1, respectively. growth and postharvest variables, with the variables FW,
However, pulp thickness was significantly (p<0.05) affected LD, TD, and PT showing high correlation, especially in the
by the evaluation times finding the maximum point of 40.38 mm control treatment over the evaluation periods, indicating little
at 59 DAT, from that time on, the fruits showed smaller pulp influence of water electrical conductivity (ECw 4.0 dS m-1) on
thickness, which is related to the beginning of the maturation fruit quality and total soluble solids variables (Figure 4).
process, when the fruits had not yet fully developed their pulp. Conversely, plant growth variables were strongly and
This can be justified by the pulp thickness values observed at positively correlated with the angle between the vectors close
60, 62, 64, and 66 DAT, which increased and remained constant, to zero, demonstrating that salinity (ECw 4.0 dS m-1) negatively
with no significant variation between times (Figure 3C). affects these variables (Figure 4). In this perspective, Sousa et
The average pulp thickness observed in the present study is al. (2019), evaluating the effect of salinity on the growth and
higher than those obtained by Andrade et al. (2022) and Rangel physiology of melon cultivars, found that salinity inhibited
et al. (2018), who evaluated the performance of Cantaloupe the fruit’s growth. Therefore, we can associate the inhibition of
melon in greenhouse and observed averages of 3.76 and 3.45 melon growth with the deleterious effects of salinity, as plants
cm, respectively. under saline conditions tend to reduce their size, which can
The content of total soluble solids increased as a function be confirmed through both univariate data (Figure 1) and
of the evaluation times, reaching 11 ºBrix for fruits at 66 DAT. PCA (Figure 4).
However, when comparing TSS values between salinity levels, For melon fruit pulp color, measured by the °hue angle
no significant influence of the treatments was observed (Figure (H), which ranges from 0º to 360º, with 0º corresponding to
3D). This result corroborates those found by Lima et al. (2011), red color, 90º corresponding to yellow, 180º to green, and 270º
who also observed no influence of salinity (0.5 to 5.0 dS m-1, to blue, values lower than 100º were found at all evaluation
utilizing drip irrigation system) on the average values of soluble times (DAT), which indicates that pulp color is greenish yellow
solids of cantaloupe melon. (Figure 5A). A small difference in values was observed; the
The TSS content of melons, to which sugars contribute to a treatment with ECw of 0.8 dS m-1 was always superior to the
large extent, has received greater attention in recent years due treatment with salinity (ECw 4.0 dS m-1), values above 90º
to its importance in determining the quality and, consequently, tending to 180º, leading the yellow color to be closer to the
the marketing value of the fruits. For the international market, green color, indicating fruits with slightly delayed maturation
a minimum TSS content of 9.0 ºBrix is recommended, and for when subjected to salt stress conditions (Figure 5).
yellow melon the required TSS content is from 10 to 12 °Brix Regarding the principal component analysis of the
(Souza et al., 2014), so the melons analyzed from 60 DAT are variables lightness (L), chromaticity (C), and Hue angle

Control - ECw 0.8 dS m-1; Salinity - ECw 4.0 dS m-1; E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6, E7, and E8 correspond respectively, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64 and 66 days after transplanting
Figure 4. Principal component analysis (PCA) scatterplot for the growth variables of ‘Goldex’ plants and fruits under different
electrical conductivity of water and harvest times

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8/10 Beatriz de A. Araújo et al.

(L), chromaticity (C), and Hue angle (H) variables than

salinity. This is because as the fruits spend more time in the
field, the ripening process advances, which in turn alters
the post-harvest parameters.
All fruits evaluated, with and without saline treatment,
had mean values of lightness (L) above 70. As the lightness
scale ranges from 0 to 100, where 100 indicates white and 0
indicates absence of lightness, it can be seen that these fruits
were brighter than opaque. On the other hand, the chromaticity
of the fruit pulp was within the range of 18 to 24, indicating
a weaker color intensity, closer to zero, assuming values close
to zero for neutral colors (gray) and around 60 for vivid colors
(McGuire, 1992). In summary, the small variation in color
indices indicates that the physical characteristics of the fruit
pulp are preserved, with little change due to maturation or to
the presence of excess salts in plant tissues.

Conclusions
Adapted from Konica Minolta Sensing Inc. (1998)
Figure 5. Mean values of hue angle - ºHue (A) (L*a*b color 1. Increased salinity of irrigation water negatively affected
space), in the pulp of fruits of irrigated melon under two the growth of melon plants, regardless of the evaluation time.
salinity levels (0.8 and 4.0 dS m-1) and at eight evaluation times 2. ECw of 4.0 dS m-1 does not reduce the fruit production
(52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64 and 66 DAT) of ‘Goldex’ melon until 64 days after transplanting.
(H), it was observed that the first two principal components 3. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) confirm the
(PC1 and PC2) account for 88.4% of the total variance univariate results, showing fruit quality was not affected by
(Figure 6). Furthermore, PCA revealed that the variables L irrigation water salinity, indicating that Goldex melon can be
and H are closely correlated and were directly influenced grown satisfactorily with ECw of 4.0 dS m-1.
by the control treatments, especially during the evaluation
periods at 52, 54, 56, and 58 DAT, indicating little influence Acknowledgments
of electrical conductivity of water (ECw 4.0 dS m-1) on these
components. Zainal et al. (2019) report that postharvest The present study was carried out with support from the
variables such as color, texture, firmness, and nutritional Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
value are closely related to factors such as temperature, - CAPES. The authors also thank the Brazilian Agricultural
water availability, and time. In this sense, we can observe Research Corporation - EMBRAPA Agroindústria Tropical
that the time factor had a greater influence on the lightness for the partnership.

Control - ECw 0.8 dS m-1; Salinity - ECw 4.0 dS m-1; E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6, E7, and E8 correspond respectively, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64 and 66 days after transplanting
Figure 6. Principal component analysis of lightness, chromaticity and angle - ºHue (B) in the pulp of fruits of irrigated melon
under two salinity levels (0.8 and 4.0 dS m-1) and at eight evaluation times (52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64 and 66 DAT)

Rev. Bras. Eng. Agríc. Ambiental, v.28, n.3, e277374, 2024.

 Development and quality of melon fruits grown under salt stress 9/10

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