GROWTH OF MELON (CUCUMIS MELO L.) VARIETIES ON DIFFERENT PLANT MEDIA COMPOSITIONS IN CONDITIONS OF HYDROPONIC DRIP IRRIGATION

The low level of land productivity, uncertain climate conditions and the high intensity of disease attacks in Indonesia result in less than optimal melon production. Hydroponic cultivation techniques are carried out for controlled maintenance to obtain the desired production. This experiment was conducted to determine the types of melon varieties combined with different planting media compositions to increase the growth and yield of melons using a hydroponic drip irrigation system. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) consisting of two factors. The first factor is variety (V) which consists of 3 levels, namely: V1 = Apollo, V2 = Autumn Waltz No. 2, and V3 = Alisha F1. The second factor was the composition of the planting medium (M), which consisted of 3 levels: M1 = 25% husk charcoal: 75% cocopeat, M2 = 75% husk charcoal: 25% cocopeat, and M3 = 50% husk charcoal: 50% cocopeat. The results of this experiment found that the combination of the Alisha variety and the planting medium of 75% cocopeat + 25% husk charcoal increased growth and yield with a fruit weight of 1797.33 g and a fruit diameter of 145.73 mm. The Alisha variety showed an average thickness of 44.29 mm flesh with lower water content and an average higher sugar content than other melon varieties, namely 15.78 brix.