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Growing Cantaloupes in High Tunnels

Petrus Langenhoven, Ph.D.Horticulture and Hydroponics Crops Specialist

January 12, 2017

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Outline of Presentation

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• Background

• Materials and Method

• Results

• Conclusion

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Background

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Background

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• Indiana is a very important player in the domestic melon market

• Total acreage planted in Indiana peaked in 1997:• 3,600 acres

• Total production was 455,000 cwt with an average income of $16.00 per cwt

• Total farm value of production was $7,280,000 ($2,022 per acre)

• Yield has increased since 1997 from 130 cwt per acre to more than 200 cwt per acre in 2014

• The Indiana melon growers have lost a significant share of the melon market since the 2011 and 2012 food borne illness outbreak

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YearAcres

PlantedYield

(cwt per acre)Value of

Production

Value of Production

per Acre

Production (cwt)

Value per cwt

1997 3,600 130 $7,280,000 $2,022 455,000 $16.00

2011 2,700 220 $12,698,000 $4,703 572,000 $22.20

2012 2,500 220 $10,487,000 $4,195 462,000 $22.70

2013 2,100 230 $11,500,000 $5,476 460,000 $25.00

2014 1,900 220 $5,980,000 $3,147 396,000 $15.10

2015 1,800 160 $7,616,000 $4,231 272,000 $28.00

Quick Facts about Indiana Cantaloupe

Average price per melon: $0.70 - $1.10

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1478

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Indiana/Publications/Current_News_Release/2016/nr1609in.pdf

https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/

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Quick Facts about Indiana Cantaloupe

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• Mainly planted in southwest Indiana

• Transplant Production: March/April

• Planting Season: April – June

• Harvest Season: June – Sept.

• Plant Population (2.5 ft. x 6 ft.): 2,904 plants per acre

• U.S. ranking in 2015: 4th in terms of production

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Goals and Objective

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• Develop solutions to reverse the decrease in acreage, market share and associated risk of food borne illness

• Long term goal is to increase the planted acreage, farm productivity and profit margins for Indiana melon growers

• In the short term we can address the demand for high quality smaller fruit (e.g. personalized melons), which would entail the continuous evaluation of a market driven selection of melon types that are currently not being grown in Indiana

• Additionally, new production technologies that would increase yield and enhance product quality will be tested

• Objective of this study was to to evaluate the productivity of a selection of cantaloupe and galia melon varieties in a high tunnel

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Materials and Method

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Material and Methods

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• Melons was produced using hydroponic techniques and coconut coir as substrate• Eight varieties from Enza Zaden were planted in a 24x48 ft. high tunnel at Meigs Farm• Sow date: 4/5/2016• Plant date: 5/10/2016• Between-row spacing: 4.5 feet• In-row spacing: 9.84 inches• Plant density: 3.69 sq. ft. per plant or 11,805 plants per acre• 5 plants per variety per replicate, 4 replicates, randomized block design• First flowers open: 05/16/2016 (6 days after transplanting, 41 days from seeding)• Planting rows were orientated east-west• Econet 100400 from Svensson was installed as insect screen – Cucumber beetles

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Varieties Tested

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Sephia - Galia

Migdal - Galia

Magnificenza - Italian netted cantaloupe

Tirreno - Italian netted cantaloupe

Kenza - Charentais

Karameza - long shelf life, fully netted cantaloupe

Rawan - Ananas

Rowena - Ananas

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Plant Nutrition

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• Fertilizer Sources:

• Peters Professional 5-11-26

• Jack’s Professional 15.5-0-0

• pH was adjusted through acid injection

• Growth Products pH Reducer - Citric acid 50%

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Water Analysis and Nutrient Solution Composition

pH EC (mS∙cm-1)Na+

ppmNH4

+

ppmK+

ppmCa++

ppmMg++

ppmNO3

-

ppmH2PO4

-

ppmSO4=

ppmCl-

ppmHCO3

-

ppm

Well water 8.2 0.7 20 0 1 78 28 0.05 0.07 6 8 426

Week 1-5 6.0-6.5 2.2 20 7 217 194 59 143 48 131 8 426

Week 6 -20 6.0-6.5 2.4 20 7 271 199 67 160 60 162 8 426

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Plant Husbandry

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• All plants were trellised vertically 8 feet high• All lateral shoots were removed by hand from the bottom up to 18 inches• All tendrils were removed• Laterals that developed from other nodes were left until it could be confirmed that fruit set

has occurred• Laterals were then removed in order to have fruit develop on laterals growing from every

second node• Fruit development is limited to one fruit per lateral• Lateral shoot was terminated two leaves from the developing fruit• Bumblebees (from Koppert Biological Systems) were used for pollination

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Node

Lateral

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Results and Discussion

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Plant Disease Challenges

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• Cucumber beetles were first observed during the second week of June 2016

• Bacterial wilt affected the crop. Beetles did show a preference for Sephia (worst affected), Migdal and Kenza

• Varieties selected for these trials had intermediate resistance to powdery mildew (Px: 1,2,5). However all varieties, excluding Sephia and Rowena, were severely affected by powdery mildew. Sephia and Rowena showed no symptoms of infection

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Bacterial Wilt

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Powdery Mildew

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Fruit Weight and Yield

Variety Fruit Size (lb) # Fruit/plant # Fruit/Acre

Sephia 3.84 1.5 19,920

Migdal 4.72 1.5 19,920

Magnificenza 3.28 2.00 26,560

Tirreno 5.15 1.50 19,920

Kenza 3.96 1.75 23,240

Karameza 5.41 1.83 24,347

Rawan 7.94 0.75 9,960

Rowena 7.40 0.92 12,173

Ideal: 2-4 lb

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Internal Fruit Quality at HarvestVariety pH Brix (%SS) Firmness (kg)

Range 6.13-6.58 9 and >11

Sephia 5.80 5.96 5.62

Migdal 6.58 8.82 7.80

Magnificenza 6.47 7.96 6.85

Tirreno 6.22 7.07 7.40

Kenza 6.15 5.81 5.47

Karameza 6.16 6.16 10.28

Rawan - - -

Rowena 6.12 5.65 2.50

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Fruit Characteristics

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1. Magnificenza

2. Tirreno

3. Rawan

4. Rowena

5. Migdal

6. Sephia

7. Kenza

8. Karameza

1

4

32 5

678

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Conclusions

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Conclusions

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• Trellising requires a lot of labor

• Humidity and temperature had a big impact on fruit set

• Yields are much higher than conventional melon, but potential is still much higher

• Most varieties are not acceptable. Magnificenza, Kenza and Migdal showed potential, but Migdal was larger than the 4 lb fruit size limit. However, Migdal did produce fruit with the highest Brix (although it was substandard

• Product quality was substandard

• Improve pest and disease management program

• Continue with variety selection and improvement of production protocol

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THANK YOU Questions?Contact details:

Dr. Petrus Langenhoven

Horticulture and Hydroponics Crop Specialist

Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture

Purdue University

Tel. no. 765-496-7955

Email: plangenh@purdue.edu

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