Date of Award
8-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Plant and Environmental Science
Committee Chair/Advisor
Matthew Cutulle
Committee Member
Brian Ward
Committee Member
Sandra Branham
Committee Member
William Bridges
Abstract
In an effort to better understand how saltwater intrusion events will impact watermelon growers a field trial was conducted to study how saline irrigation water will impact weed growth and seedless watermelon productivity at a joint Clemson University and USDA ARS facility. Weed management has always been a hurdle in vegetable crop production systems, requiring extensive labor even in a conventional setup. For organic growers, often the only economical approach is a combination of mechanical weed control techniques, including plastic mulches, tarps, and hand weeding. For watermelon growers, plastic mulch remains the most effective form of organic weed control available. In a watermelon plasticulture system, nutsedge species such as C. esculentus can remain a pest, as they have the ability to puncture plastic and must be removed by hand. Farmers in the coastal Southeastern United States also face a growing threat from extreme weather events and intruding salt water, which can impact the quality of irrigation water and deposit high levels of salt in their fields. It is well documented that high levels of salinity can negatively impact agricultural yields, however the interaction between salinity and weed competition has only been explored to a limited degree. The study was carried out under organic conditions, while sea water obtained locally was mixed with water from an irrigation pond to imitate an irrigation source that had been contaminated by a seawater intrusion event. While watermelon productivity was reduced in areas treated with saline water, the yellow nutsedge population in these areas was higher during the early season, indicating a potential increase in weed competitiveness under saline conditions. More research is needed to study long-term effects on weed populations; however, this could demonstrate an additional hurdle to growers trying to reclaim marginalized land that has been damaged by saltwater intrusion.
Recommended Citation
Bazzle, Joseph F., "Assessing Grafted Triploid Watermelon and Yellow Nutsedge Growth in Saline Agroecosystems" (2025). All Theses. 4582.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4582