The Effect of Leaf Bud Trimming and Fruit Position Arrangement on the Quality of Golden Melon (Cucumis melo L.)

Abstract

Melon are one of the most popular fruit commodities, but, despite the demand, its production in Indonesia has declined. One measure that can be used to optimize the quality of melon fruit is to trim off the leaf buds and arrange the position of fruiting on the stem, and this study, using the golden melon cultivar ‘Apollo,’ aimed to identify the effects of leaf bud trimming and fruit position arrangement in improving the quantity and quality of the fruit harvest. The experiment was conducted from March to May 2018 in the greenhouse of Food Crop and Horticulture Agribusiness Development (UPT Pengembangan Agribisnis Tanaman Pangan dan Hortikultura), in Lebo, Sidoarjo, Indonesia. It was based on a split-plot design, with leaf bud trimming as the main factor, consisting of two groups (trimming or not trimming), and fruit positions as the secondary factor, consisting of four stages, all repeated at four different time intervals. A correlation was found between leaf bud trimming and fruit position arrangement toward the number of leaves. However, the treatments did not affect the growth and yield of the plants, but did have a significant effect on fruit weight, sweetness, and volume. It was concluded that trimming off the leaf buds and arranging the fruiting position on golden melon plants can increase the quality of fruits, with the treatment involving trimming combined with arranging fruiting on the twelfth–thirteenth segment showing the best results.