Pretransplant Nutritional Conditioning Effects on Seedling Growth and on Fruit Yield in Muskmelon

Abstract

ABSTRACT Two greenhouse experiments were conducted under winter conditions to examine the Pretransplant Nutritional Conditioning (PNC) effect of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) on the growth of muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) seedlings. Nutrient solutions containing 200–364 mg/l N and 36–200 mg/l P resulted in the highest shoot and root mass. The development of control (without N and P) seedlings was markedly delayed. In two field experiments, seedlings which were fertilized with various levels of N and P during the nursery stage were transplanted to the field to evaluate any influence of the nursery practices on fruit yield and quality. Commercial practices under field conditions eliminated any visible differences among PNC treatments. Nevertheless, the early yield of plots from control (N0 and P0) transplants was lower than those of all other PNC treatments. Total yield and total soluble solids (TSS) values were not affected by various PNC levels in three muskmelon cultigens.