Effects of nitrogen fertilization on nutrient uptake, assignment, utilization and yield of melon

An experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of different levels of nitrogen application on nutrient uptake, assignment, utilization and yield of melon in fields with drip irrigation. The results show that the accumulative amounts of N, P and K in melon plants are increased when more nitrogen fertilizer are applied, especially at the later growth stages of melon. Under the P2O5 application of 140 kg/ha, and K2O of 150 kg/ha, the nutrient uptakes, yield and sugar content of melon are the highest with 225 kg/ha N application. The nitrogen fertilizer use efficiencies are from 11% to 29% for the N treatments, and the nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency is increased with the reduction of nitrogen application rate. Among the nutrients required by melon, the amount of potassium is the highest, the amount of nitrogen takes the second place and the phosphorus is the least, which indicates melon is K-favoring crops.