According to the National Watermelon Promotion Board , the United States is the fifth heavy manufacturer of Citrullus vulgaris in the creation , with the res publica of Georgia , Florida and Texas lead the nation . Watermelon is an even more important craw in the arid state of China , Turkey and Iran , where salty ground pee is prevalent . Watermelons prefer loose , well - drained , non - saline soils , but are capable to put up some common salt photograph during polish .
Salt and Plant Nutrition
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks dissolve into water system , separating into positively charged atomic number 11 ( Na+ ) and negatively charged atomic number 17 ( Cl- ) molecule . Sodium is stuffy enough chemically to potassium to fool plant cells into absorbing it , thereby blocking potassium from where it is needed . K plays a decisive persona in dozens of cell functions related to growth , mostly by cause enzyme construction to reorganize into their responsive forms . Growth and root development slow as a result of atomic number 11 poisoning .
How Salt Exacerbates Drought Conditions
Watermelon is often grow in juiceless region because , wayward to their name , melons do n’t demand a mint of water in cultivation . In fact , too much piss adulterate the carbohydrate in the yield , resulting in a less tasty product . However , where salt is present , craw become hungry as osmosis rip water out of their solution to balance with the common salt . bad , since dry areas ca n’t weigh on rainwater to hydrate the theatre of operations , open irrigation often results in much of the irrigation water evaporating , and thereby concentrating salt before it gets to plant roots . Watermelon is also a very shallow - rooted plant life ; frequent watering is ask because fluid seeping into the ground shortly descends beyond the utile reach of the plant .
How Watermelon Plants Cope with Salt
pee loss triggers a defense answer in watermelon plants . folio close up their stomate to reduce more water loss through transpiration . The flora produces osmolytes to stabilize cell tissue layer and stop water system loss through osmosis . These measure are meant to be only impermanent , as they also hold nutrient transport within the industrial plant and carbon dioxide aspiration , which plants need for photosynthesis .
Increasing Watermelon Yields in Salty Conditions
Since sodium competes with potassium in flora cellular phone , growers coping with saline solution soils fertilize heavily with potassium to make it more prevalent and therefore available to their crop . drying up of priming - source irrigation water supply increases its saline solution concentration , so preventing as much H2O departure as possible is important . dripping irrigation systems virtually bring evaporation to a halt , as the water is drive home direct to the groundwork of the plants , where it can filter straight down to the roots , shield from the energy of the sun by the leaves of the plant .
Salt and Watermelon Fruit
Citrullus vulgaris absorbs some sodium and chloride mote from saline result , which end up in the fruit . Water also ends up in greater amount in the yield , with the result that the melons are juicier and have few solids than non - saline yield .
Through careful cultivation , research has shown that watermelon is jolly resilient and able to produce tolerable yields up to a sure threshold of saline solution exposure , but if salinity levels are too mellow , the harvest and plant energy are adversely affected . The nutrient displacement reaction , urine loss and drib in photosynthesis all take their toll with stunted growing , yellow leaves , piddling or no fruiting , and even works mortality .
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