Study on factors causing premature aging of Jinxiangyu melon plants by different artificial pollination methods

ZHANG Hanying; FU Shiqi; ZHANG Huiming; LI Ruping; WANG Shaochun; YANG Fusun

doi:10.16861/j.cnki.zggc.2025.0603

Abstract：Hainan is the core production area for winter and spring melon supply in China.Melon can be pollinated using either artificial or bee pollination methods.Bee pollination significantly improves fruit quality but can lead to premature senescence,affecting economic benefits.To investigate the factors influencing plant premature aging caused by bee polli-nation,this study used Jinxiangyu melon as the experimental subject.Four treatments were established:no pollination(CK),artificial pollen pollination(strong×tall)(T2),artificial pollen pollination(weak×short)(T3),and artificial hor-mone pollination(T4).The effects of each pollination method on plant growth indicators,nutrient accumulation,fruit yield,quality,and seed traits were measured.The results indicated that neither the control nor hormone-pollinated melon exhibited premature aging,whereas all artificial pollen-pollinated treatments(simulating bee pollination)showed varying degrees of premature aging.The T2 treatment had a 4%premature aging rate,while the T3 treatment reached a significant-ly highest rate of 45%.The plants of T3 exhibited significantly lower leaf area,chlorophyll content,stem diameter and root vitality,compared to CK.During the harvest period,the yield of T4 treatment was significantly increased by 17.25%and 16.75%,respectively,compared with that of T2 and T3 treatments.The content of soluble sugar and soluble solids in the fruits treated with T2 were significantly higher than those treated with T3 and T4,and the total acidity was reduced.VIP analysis revealed,the influencing factors that cause premature aging of melon plants,from strong to weak,were as follows:Root system vitality>total biomass>fruit soluble solids content>fruit total acidity>seed number>potassium accu-mulation>fruit soluble sugar content.In summary,abnormal melon seed development disrupts the plant's nutrient resource allocation balance,leading to reduced root system vitality,nutrient absorption barriers,and ultimately premature plant se-nescence.