Evaluation of the effect of plant distance on yield of four watermelon cultivars (Citrullus vulgaris) in Jiroft environmental conditions

In order to determine the most appropriate planting distance and cultivar and also to find the most effective traits in watermelon yield at different planting densities, this study was conducted as split plots in three replications for two cropping years 2016-2017 in Jiroft. Plant spacing (40, 50, 60 and 70 cm) and four watermelon cultivars (Patangra, Favorite, CrimsonPS and CrimsonG-53 were divided into main and sub-plots, respectively. There was a significant effect on the studied traits except the thickness of the fruit skin, so that the number of fruits and yield decreased significantly with increasing plant distance on the planting line; The highest values of these traits were 0.99 and 23.82 tons.hectare-1 at a distance of 40 cm, respectively. But the quality and appearance of the fruit at a distance of 70 cm had its highest value. Increasing the culture distance from 40 to 70 cm increased the amount of soluble solids by 12%. The studied cultivars were significantly different in all traits except Brix. CrimsonPS and CrimsonG cultivars had the highest yields during the two years of testing at 22.50 and 20.76 tons per hectare, respectively. CrimsonPS cultivar was relatively superior to other cultivars in terms of most of the studied traits, and this ultimately led to the highest yield per unit area. Path analysis showed that in different cultivation densities, fruit number and single fruit weight had the greatest effect on fruit yield; These two traits were selected as the most important traits in determining fruit yield.