Fertirrigação na cultura do melão em ambiente protegido, utilizando fertilizantes organominerais e quimicos

The experiment was installed in the Experimental Farm of the Uberaba University, in one of the modules of plastic greenhouse of 768 m2. Treatments consisted of two types of fertigation: conventional chemical fertigation and with biofertilizers. Also, two fertigation frequencies were studied for each type: at intervals of one and seven days. The best yields were obtained with the daily fertilizer application, with superiority for the biofertilizers, with production of 45.5 t ha-1 of fruits. This was better than mineral products, which produced 42.4 t ha-1. The weekly fertigation had lower productivities, and in this case, the biofertilizers also surpassed the chemical, on an average by 2.0 t ha-1. It was also observed that the biofertilizers delayed the crop cycle by about 8 days, compared to chemical fertigation. In spite of prolongation of crop cycle, it can be concluded that biofertilizers are efficient in nutrition of melon, with similar or even higher yields in comparison to those obtained by mineral products.