Influence of humic substances and biochar on the yield of cantaloupe (<i>Cucumis melo</i> L.) in organic management systems

Figures (4) Tables (3)

Figure 1.
Temperature readings for the 2020 and 2020 summer season in Nashville, Tennessee, USA^[17].
Figure 2.
Precipitation readings for the 2021 and 2020 summer season in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Figure 3.
2021 comparison between varieties (p ≤ 0.05). Error bars represent standard deviation.
Figure 4.
2020 comparison between varieties (P ≤ 0.05). Error bars represent standard deviation.
Pounds per acre – Mehlich 1
pH P K Ca Mg Zn Fe Mn B Na

6.13 882 V 1938 V 5327 S 344 S 13 S 28 S 212 S 2.4 89

Indices for amount of nutrients are Low (L), Medium (M), Sufficient (S), High (H), and Very High (V).

Table 1.
Soil test results for the 2020 growing season.

Variety	Treatment	Fruit number /plant	Fruit height Mean (cm)	Diameter Mean (cm)	Weight Mean (kg)
PMR Delicious 51	HA + FA	3.87^a	15.90^ab	14.96^b	1.78^c
	HA	2.60^c	15.77^a	15.39^ab	1.91^bc
	B	3.13^b	16.92^c	15.98^a	2.23^a
	C	3.80^a	16.41^bc	15.65^a	2.10^ab
Divergent F1	HA + FA	3.20^a	15.98^a	15.47^a	1.99^a
	HA	2.60^b	15.70^a	15.09^ab	1.91^a
	B	3.40^a	15.29^a	14.71^b	1.81^a
	C	2.20^b	15.62^a	14.94^ab	1.83^a
Varieties are analyzed separately. Values are presented as means. Within each column, values followed by the same letter are not significantly different at (p ≤ 0.05). Significance at (p ≤ 0.05). HA+FA, Humic Acid + Fulvic Acid; HA, Humic Acid; B, Biochar; C, Control.

Table 2.

2020 results of number of fruits per plant, fruit height, fruit weight, and fruit diameter in PMR Delicious 51 and Divergent F1.

Variety	Treatment	Fruit number /Plant	Fruit height Mean (cm)	Diameter Mean (cm)	Weight Mean (kg)
PMR Delicious 51	HA+FA	4.1^a	15.62^a	13.44^a	0.85^a
	HA	4.3^a	14.81^b	12.37^b	0.70^b
	B	2.7^b	15.16^ab	12.24^b	0.70^b
	C	2.5^b	14.83^b	12.55^b	0.70^b
Divergent F1	HA+FA	7.7^a	17.65^ab	16.79^ab	1.48^ab
	HA	5.7^b	17.93^a	17.20^a	1.55^a
	B	5.8^b	17.27^b	16.54^b	1.41^b
	C	4.3^c	17.63^ab	16.59^b	1.45^ab
Varieties are analyzed separately. Values are presented as means. Within each column, values followed by the same letter are not significantly different at (p ≤ 0.05). Significance at (p ≤ 0.05). HA+FA, Humic Acid + Fulvic Acid; HA, Humic Acid; B, Biochar; C, Control.

Table 3.

2021 results of number of fruit per plant, fruit height, fruit weight, and fruit diameter in PMR Delicious 51 and Divergent F1.

Pounds per acre – Mehlich 1
pH	P	K	Ca	Mg	Zn	Fe	Mn	B	Na
6.13	882 V	1938 V	5327 S	344 S	13 S	28 S	212 S	2.4	89
Indices for amount of nutrients are Low (L), Medium (M), Sufficient (S), High (H), and Very High (V).