Effect of Mycorrhizal Inoculation on Melon Plants under Deficit Irrigation Regimes

The shortage of good quantity and quality water for irrigated agriculture is a major problem in arid semiarid regions. To deal with this problem, deficit irrigation (DI) or arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation have been proposed adopted many crops as tool to save water, improve crop tolerance drought stress. An experiment was conducted two consecutive years evaluate the effect on physiological, morphological, yield, characteristics melon plants grown under irrigation. Melon (Cucumis melo L. cv. Helios) field conditions adopting split-plot design four replications, where DI main factor AMF secondary factor. treatments consisted applying 60%, 80%, 100% evapotranspiration (ETc) inoculated not commercial biostimulant containing 50% Rhizophagus irregularis, Funneliformis mosseae. Moderate severe significantly reduced relative content, stomatal conductance, nitrogen applied efficiency (NAE), fruit firmness uninoculated plants, but increased use (IWUE) ascorbic acid content fruit. had positive plant moderate stress, some parameters (fruit length, firmness, sugar content). combined (80%) soil allows savings without affecting increases IWUE, NAE, (firmness, SSC, SSC/TA). Furthermore, could be worth it reduce yield loss increase quality, even (60%).