Effect of the application of monosilicic acid on the production and quality of triploid watermelon
2010
Toresano-Sanchez, Fernando | Diaz-Perez, Manuel | Dianez-Martinez, Fernando | Camacho-Ferre, Francisco
Experiments were conducted in two consecutive years in a multilayered plastic-covered greenhouse, of the “raspa and amagado” (covered skeleton structure) types in the fields of Almeria (south-eastern Spain), to evaluate the production and quality of a triploid watermelon crop (Citrullus lanatus Thunb) cv. 'Queen of Hearts' grafted onto the (Cucurbita maxima x Cucurbita moschata) squash hybrid cv. 'Strongtosa'. A 2.5% solution of the monosilicic acid [Si(OH)4] product was applied to this crop in the drip irrigation system at a dose of 260 mL·ha-1 in both experiments. Results showed that the product did not influence productive parameters in terms of kg of product·m-2, kg plant-1, or number of fruits plant-1. Nevertheless the monosilicic acid [Si(OH)4] product appeared to have a positive effect on some quality aspects of the fruit with an approximate 10% increase in pulp consistency and rind width.
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