The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of five irrigation frequencies in the productivity and efficience of water use of melon crop cultivated under fertirrigation by drip irrigation in a sandy soil of the Coast Plains of Piauí, Brazil. The experiment was allocated in a randomized complete block design, with five treatments and six replications. The treatments were: F1, F2, F3, F4 and F5, irrigation frequency of 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4 days, respectively. The irrigation frequency affected the marketable and total yield of the melon crop. The highest total (70.73 t ha-1; 77.99 t ha-1 and 64.21 t ha-1) and marketable (62.20 t ha-1; 63.88 t ha-1 and 53.67 t ha-1) yields were obtained with the frequencies of 0.5 and 1 day, respectively. It was observed that for the leastest frequent of water applications there was a significative reduction (P<0.01) of the marketable and total fruit yield of melon crop. The average fruit weight was not affected by the frequency of water application. The highest and the lowest efficiency of water use, 24.40 kg m-3 and 14.14 kg m-3, were obtained with the frequencies of F1 and F5, respectively. The irrigation frequency twice a day, daily and two days are indicated for melon crop cultivated in sand soil by drip irrigation. The efficiency of water use for the melon crop is higher when the irrigation frequencies are higher.
Cucumis melo; melon; drip irrigation; management
