Influence of Using Water Harvesting Techniques on Snake Melon (Cucumis melo L. var. flexuosus) Yield under Semiarid Conditions

Abstract

The majority of cultivated crops in the West Bank are rain-fed; the productivity of these crops is far below its potential. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of water harvesting techniques (contour ridge and half-moon structure) on snake melon (Cucumis melo L. var. flexuosus) yield under semiarid conditions. Three treatments (contour ridge, half-moon, and control) were evaluated during 2015/2016 and 2017/2018, using randomized complete block design with three replicates. The results showed that the yield of snake melon during a high-rainfall year was about triple (mainly for control treatment) the yield in a low-rainfall year. The yield of snake melon in water harvesting treatments shows a significant increase that ranges from 49.3% (in a high rainfall year) to 95% (in a low-rainfall year) compared with the control treatment, no significant difference between the contour ridge and half moon structure. These results show that water harvesting structures have the potential to improve the snake melon yield under semiarid conditions. Contour ridge is simple, practicable, easy to establish, and not costly; therefore, we recommend this technique to be applied by the farmers under similar environmental conditions. More studies are required to evaluate the impact of these water harvesting techniques on the yield of other rain-fed vegetable crops under semiarid conditions.