The effect of five irrigation water salinity levels (N: 1.51, 2.79, 3.93, 5.15 and 7,22 dS m-1), on initial development of two yellow melon cultivars (Gold mine and AF646) was studied. The trial was conducted under field conditions in an orchard belonging to Department of Phytotechnic - ESAM, at Mossoró in the State of RIo Grande do Norte, Brazil, during the period of November 4 to December 12, 1998. Plastic pots with 9 L capacity filled with Alfisol soil (horizon Ap1) were used. Experimental design was a completely randomized block in a factorial scheme, with three replications. Shoot dry matter, leaf area, mean soil salinity and final soil salinity were evaluated through variance and regression analysis. Salinity tolerance was similar for Gold mine and AF646, with a loss of 6.8% of shoot dry matter for unit increase of electrical conductivity of irrigation water. A similar behavior was observed for leaf area. Irrigation water salinity induced linear effect on mean soil salinity and quadratic effect on final soil salinity.
irrigation; electrical conductivity; Cucumis melo L.; salinity
