2019 ASHS Annual Conference

Soil erosion and environmental pollution are the major problems the world faces today. Organic farming is the fastest growing sector in the field of agriculture due to environmental problems. As a part of the conservation research being carried out on horticulture crops for erosion prediction, nutrient management, and conservation planning, 103 varieties of melons (Cucumis Melo L.) from around the globe were analyzed for their quality and adaptability. Selected two varieties of high quality melons, Pride of Wisconsin and Charentais (French variety), were raised on Memphis silt loam soil (Typic Hapludalf, silty, mixed, thermic) in Southwest region of Mississippi. These melons received nutrients from three treatments of composted organic manures (cow-c; poultry-P; cow and poultry-c + p) in a split-plot design. Pride of Wisconsin was high in yield and stem diameter for all treatments, and high in Leaf Area Index (LAI) and percent canopy cover for cow + poultry. While Charentais was high in total number of fruits ha^-1 for all treatments, it was high in dry biomass only for poultry manure. Fruit length, width, and seed cavity length were high for Pride of Wisconsin under poultry manure. Flesh pressure was high in Pride of Wisconsin for cow treatment. Even though not significantly different, the vitamin C content in Pride of Wisconsin was high for cow manure, followed by poultry, and least in C+P. Since both these indigenous and exotic varieties of melons respond well to these organic manures and are highly adapted to this region, we strongly recommend this farming system for our farmers.