The effect of irrigation method and row spacing on yield and economic efficiency of muscat pumpkin (cucurbita moschata) cultivation in southern Ukraine

In recent years, Ukraine has witnessed a steady increase in interest in pumpkin cultivation, which can be explained by its low requirements for agrotechnical conditions, high adaptability to different climatic zones, and significant agroeconomic benefits.The crop fits well into crop rotations, serves as a high-quality preceding crop for winter wheat and other cereal crops, promotes soil structure formation, suppresses weeds, and provides other agronomic advantages.According to the results of a field experiment conducted in 2025, the yield of muscat pumpkin fruits significantly depended on the irrigation method and, to a lesser extent, on row spacing.Under sprinkler irrigation, yield increased with wider row spacing, from 27.6 t/ha at 140 cm to 32.3 t/ha at 210 cm.At the same time, under drip irrigation, the highest yield was obtained at a row spacing of 140 cm (37.9 t/ha), whereas widening the spacing to 210 cm reduced the yield to 34.0 t/ha.A comparison of average values demonstrates the clear advantage of drip irrigation over sprinkler irrigation: the yield increase amounted to 10.3 t/ha at a row spacing of 140 cm and 1.7 t/ha at 210 cm.The effect of row spacing was less pronounced and manifested mainly through its interaction with the irrigation factor.Correlation analysis revealed a strong positive relationship between irrigation method and yield (r = 0.81), indicating the decisive role of the transition from sprinkler to drip irrigation in shaping crop productivity.The correlation between row spacing and yield was weak (r = 0.05), confirming the auxiliary nature of this factor under conditions of controlled water supply.It should be noted that the economic efficiency of muscat pumpkin cultivation in 2025 depended significantly on the combination of irrigation method and row spacing.Under sprinkler irrigation, a lower production cost of fruits was observed compared to drip irrigation.At a row spacing of 140 cm, the production cost amounted to 3116 UAH/t, whereas its reduction to 2910 UAH/t at a row spacing of 210 cm was accompanied by an increase in profit from 190.5 to 229.3 thousand UAH/ha and an increase in the profitability level from 220 % to 243 %.It can be concluded that the highest profitability level was ensured by the sprinkler irrigation variant with a row spacing of 210 cm, while the maximum profit per hectare was obtained under drip irrigation with a row spacing of 140 cm.