ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of yield and quality of three types of melon, bearing one and two fruits per plant. The experiment was conducted from September to December 2013, in the Greenhouse Sector belonging to Unioeste, Campus Marechal Cândido Rondon - PR. The experimental design wasrandomized blocks in a factorial scheme 3 x 2, with six replications. In the first factor the melon types (canary melon, net melon, frog skin melon) were allocated and in the second factor, the plants with different number of fruits (one and two fruits per plant). The characteristics evaluated were fruit mass, longitudinal and transversal diameters of fruit and locule, thickness of the endocarp, fruit and locule shape index, soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, fruit firmness, ratio and productivity. The fruits obtained from plants with one and two fruits showed higher fruit fresh mass and increased productivity, respectively. The frog skin melon type had higher fresh fruit mass and productivity. The ratio was influenced by the number of fruits per plant for the canary melon type. The net melon type showed a reduction in acidity compared to the other types, regardless of the number of fruits maintained per plant. The thickened pulp was found in fruits of plants with only one fruit. The fruit and locule shape index were not influenced by the number of fruits per plant. Regardless of the number of fruits and the type of melon, the soluble solids content was higher than the minimum recommended for marketing.
Key words:
Cucumis melo L.; net melon; canary melon; frog skin melon; pruning fruit
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