Salt tolerance of five muskmelon cutivars

Summary The salt tolerance of five muskmelon (Cucumis meloL.) cultivars Hara Madhu, Punjab Sunhari, Punjab Hybrid, Pusa Madhuras and Durgapur Madhu was assessed in field plots artificially salinized with NaCl and CaCl2. Percentage germination and melon yield of all the cultivars decreased linearly with increasing soil salinity. Decline in percentage germination with increasing salinity differed with cultivar. If soil salinity exceeded 1·11 dS/m, mean germination of muskmelon decreased at a rate of 9% per unit increase in soil salinity. Similarly melon yield decreased at a rate of 8·73% for each unit of EC exceeding 103 dS/m. Hara Madhu had the highest rate of yield drop per unit salinity increase. The salt tolerance limit of muskmelon was found to be associated with soil ECe value of about 5·20–6·32 dS/m.