Abstract
Water scarcity and inefficient irrigation are major constraints on crop production. Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) offers a promising solution; however, the lack of practical procedures limits its widespread adoption. This study developed an RDI strategy for greenhouse-grown melons (Cucumis melo L.), aiming to optimize the timing and amount of irrigation. To quantify melon water demand by using the crop coefficient–reference evapotranspiration approach, crop coefficients were estimated for each growth stage under representative cultivation conditions in Taiwan. In parallel, growth-stage-specific stomatal conductance thresholds were identified, and corresponding models for classifying water status were developed. In the proposed strategy, the water status classification models are used to determine irrigation timing; irrigation is performed with 100% and 35%–60% of the estimated crop evapotranspiration before and after fruit setting, respectively. The proposed strategy was validated across three crop seasons in soilless and soil-grown systems. In both systems, it resulted in substantially higher water productivity than conventional practices did. In soil-grown systems, the total irrigation amounts were reduced by 19.3% to 25.7% without yield or fruit quality being compromised. In soilless systems, the strategy increased fruit sweetness and reduced fruit cracking, although it also led to lower yield and smaller fruits. Multicriteria decision analysis through the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution confirmed that the proposed strategy mostly achieved a more favorable balance among yield maintenance, fruit quality enhancement, and water saving than did conventional irrigation. This strategy has the potential to enhance water management in greenhouse melon cultivation, particularly in soil-grown systems.
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The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
The strategy raised water productivity in both soilless and soil-grown systems compared with conventional practices.
- Taxon
- melons
.jpg?width=60)
Cucumis melot0 - Treatment
- ite0
- Outcome
- water productivitye0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- conventional practicese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“In both systems, it resulted in substantially higher water productivity than conventional practices did”
t0“melons”
Claim · model-written summary
In soil-grown systems, the strategy reduced total irrigation by 19.3% to 25.7%.
- Taxon
- melonsCucumis melot0
- Treatment
- irrigation strategyt0
- Outcome
- total irrigation amountse0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 19.3% to 25.7%e0
- Setting
- soil-grown systemse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In soil-grown systems, the total irrigation amounts were reduced by 19.3% to 25.7% without yield or fruit quality being compromised”
t0“Regulated deficit irrigation strategy for greenhouse melons”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil-grown systems maintained yield and fruit quality under the strategy.
- Taxon
- melonsCucumis melot0
- Treatment
- irrigation strategyt0
- Outcome
- yield or fruit qualitye0
- Direction
- without yield or fruit quality being compromisede0
- Setting
- soil-grown systemse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In soil-grown systems, the total irrigation amounts were reduced by 19.3% to 25.7% without yield or fruit quality being compromised”
t0“Regulated deficit irrigation strategy for greenhouse melons”
Claim · model-written summary
In soilless systems, the strategy increased fruit sweetness.
- Taxon
- melonsCucumis melot0
- Treatment
- strategye0
- Outcome
- fruit sweetnesse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Setting
- soilless systemse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In soilless systems, the strategy increased fruit sweetness and reduced fruit cracking, although it also led to lower yield and smaller fruits”
t0“melons”
Claim · model-written summary
In soilless systems, the strategy reduced fruit cracking.
- Taxon
- melonsCucumis melot0
- Treatment
- strategye0
- Outcome
- fruit crackinge0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Setting
- soilless systemse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In soilless systems, the strategy increased fruit sweetness and reduced fruit cracking, although it also led to lower yield and smaller fruits”
t0“melons”
Claim · model-written summary
In soilless systems, the strategy lowered yield.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In soilless systems, the strategy increased fruit sweetness and reduced fruit cracking, although it also led to lower yield and smaller fruits”
t0“melons”
Claim · model-written summary
In soilless systems, the strategy produced smaller fruits.
- Taxon
- melonsCucumis melot0
- Treatment
- strategye0
- Outcome
- fruitse0
- Direction
- smallere0
- Setting
- soilless systemse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In soilless systems, the strategy increased fruit sweetness and reduced fruit cracking, although it also led to lower yield and smaller fruits”
t0“melons”
Claim · model-written summary
Multicriteria analysis found the strategy mostly gave a more favorable balance of yield, quality and water saving than conventional irrigation.
- Taxon
- melonsCucumis melot0
- Outcome
- balance among yield maintenance, fruit quality enhancement, and water savinge0
- Direction
- more favorablee0
- Comparator
- conventional irrigatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Multicriteria decision analysis through the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution confirmed that the proposed strategy mostly achieved a more favorable balance among yield maintenance, fruit quality enhancement, and water saving than did conventional irrigation”
t0“melons”
The same questions in other papers
irrigation · quality: grain · Cucumis melo (muskmelon)Positive and negative results
4 papers in the same direction as this paper · 3 in the opposite direction
- no effect
- no effect
- negative
4 papers more in this group
See all 8 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.