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This work was funded by the Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria, Spanish Agency (Project RTA 04-111-C3).
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Teresa Castellanos, MariaAuthorDel Carmen Cartagena, MariaAuthorMaria Tarquis, AnaAuthorArce, AugustoAuthorGrowth dynamics and yield of melon as influenced by nitrogen fertilizer
Publicated to:Scientia Agricola. 68 (2): 191-199 - 2011-03-01 68(2), DOI: 10.1590/S0103-90162011000200009
Authors: Teresa Castellanos, Maria; Jesus Cabello, Maria; del Carmen Cartagena, Maria; Maria Tarquis, Ana; Arce, Augusto; Ribas, Francisco;
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Abstract
Nitrogen (N) is an important nutrient for melon (Cucumis melo L.) production. However there is scanty information about the amount necessary to maintain an appropriate balance between growth and yield. Melon vegetative organs must develop sufficiently to intercept light and accumulate water and nutrients but it is also important to obtain a large reproductive-vegetative dry weight ratio to maximize the fruit yield. We evaluated the influence of different N amounts on the growth, production of dry matter and fruit yield of a melon 'Piel de sapo' type. A three-year field experiment was carried out from May to September. Melons were subjected to an irrigation depth of 100% crop evapotranspiration and to 11 N fertilization rates, ranging 11 to 393 kg ha(-1) in the three years. The dry matter production of leaves and stems increased as the N amount increased. The dry matter of the whole plant was affected similarly, while the fruit dry matter decreased as the N amount was increased above 112, 93 and 95 kg ha(-1), in 2005, 2006 and 2007, respectively. The maximum Leaf Area Index (LAI), 3.1, was obtained at 393 kg ha(-1) of N. The lowest N supply reduced the fruit yield by 21%, while the highest increased the vegetative growth, LAI and Leaf Area Duration (LAD), but reduced yield by 24% relative to the N(93) treatment. Excessive applications of N increase vegetative growth at the expense of reproductive growth. For this melon type, rates about 90-100 kg ha(-1) of N are sufficient for adequate plant growth, development and maximum production. To obtain fruit yield close to the maximum, the leaf N concentration at the end of the crop cycle should be higher than 19.5 g kg(-1).
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Quality index
Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel
The work has been published in the journal Scientia Agricola due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2011, it was in position 19/56, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Agriculture, Multidisciplinary. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría Agronomy and Crop Science.
From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 1.71, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)
Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-15, the following number of citations:
- WoS: 10
- Scopus: 27
Impact and social visibility
Leadership analysis of institutional authors
There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (CASTELLANOS MONCHO, MARIA TERESA) .