The region comprised by the municipalities of Mossoró-Açu is quite important with regard to yellow melon yield in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, where melon crops are grown from June to November. During this period, variations in climatic factors occur, suggesting the possibility of sowing season influences on the behavior of melon plants. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of sowing seasons (8/19, 9/9 and 9/29, 1999) and cultivars (Rochedo, FA 646, Gold Pride, Gold Mine, and Goldex) on melon plant productivity. A completely randomized blocks design with split-plots and three replicates was utilized. The seasons were considered as plots, and subplots consisted of cultivars. No effects of the interaction between sowing seasons × cultivars on the evaluated traits were observed. With regard to total number of fruits/ha (TNF), weight (kg/ha) total fruits, and number of marketable fruits, the best cultivars were, respectively, Rochedo and AF 646; Rochedo, AF 646 and Gold Pride; and, AF 646. The cultivars did not differ with regard to weight (kg/ha) of marketable fruits. The sowing season factor only influenced TNF. Seeding on 9/29 provided the best results.
Cucumis melo L.; yellow melon; cultivars
