Qualidade do melão tipo gália quando submetido a diferentes dosagens de nitrogênio e potássio.

Abstract

This work was carried out with the objective of evaluating “Galia” muskmelon fruit quality when submitted to different doses of nitrogen and potassium. Immediately after harvest, at 63 days after sowing, the soluble solid content was determined, and after storage in cold chamber were determined soluble solid content, pulp firmness and weight loss. The experimental design was a completely randomized blocks, with three repetitions. Treatments consisted of the combination of three N doses (N1 = 42, N2 = 84 and N3 = 126 kg.ha-1), three K doses (K1 = 106, K2 = 212 and K3 = 322 kg.ha-1), and three additional treatments (N0K0, N0K2 and N2K0). The N2 and K2 doses are the most recommended in technical literature. Fertilizers applied by fertirrigation were: potassium chloride, potassium sulphate, urea, nitric acid, magnesium nitrate and fosforic acid. Doses of N and K did not affect soluble solid content of muskmelon fruits. An increase was observed in pulp firmness with higher K doses, but it depended on the interaction between K and N. An increase on N and K doses reduced fruit weight loss during storage.