THE VALUE OF WATER IN THE FERTIRRIGATED MELON PRODUCTION SYSTEM

Abstract

The objective of this work is to evaluate the value of water in the melon production system in different irrigation managements. The experiment was carried out in a plot located in DIBAU, in which all cultural treatments were the same, differing only in terms of water use. The evaluated irrigation managements were two, M1 and M2 controlled by the Ômega system that uses the evaporation of the Class A tank, which adopt kt equal to 1.0 and 0.75, respectively, and M3 by a spreadsheet with an irrigation scheme used by the local producers. The total cost (TC) of production averaged R$ 27,897.41 ha^-1, with a variation of R$ 276.06 between managements, although M1 used less than half the water of M3. Fixed costs, with inputs and labor, represent more than 90% of the total cost. The costs involving irrigation (water + energy) represented 1 to 2% of the TC between treatments. It is concluded that the production system requires a considerable investment to cover production costs and that although water is an essential resource for irrigated systems, it has little impact on TC, regardless of the amount of water applied.