Water pumping restrictions of high-quality irrigation water from underground aquifers is affecting vegetable production in Southwest Texas. There is a need to develop efficient deficit-irrigation strategies to minimize irrigation inputs and maintain crop profitability. Our objective was to determine how growth, yield, and quality of cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L. cv. `Caravelle') are affected by irrigation systems with varying input levels, including drip depth position and polyethylene mulch. Stand establishment systems used were containerized transplants and direct seeding. Field experiments were conducted on a Uvalde silty clay loam soil. Marketable yields increased in the order of pre-irrigation followed by: dry-land conditions, furrow/no-mulch, furrow/mulch, drip-surface (0 cm depth)/mulch, drip-subsurface (10-cm depth)/mulch, and drip-subsurface (30 cm depth)/mulch. Pooled across all drip depth treatments, plants on drip had higher water use efficiency than plants on furrow/no-mulch or furrow/mulch systems. Transplants with drip-surface produced 75% higher total and fruit size No. 9 yields than drip-subsurface (10- or 30-cm depth) during the first harvest, but total yields were unaffected by drip tape position. About similar trends were measured in a subsequent study except for a significant irrigation system (stand establishment interaction for yield. Total yields were highest for transplants on drip-subsurface (10-cm depth) and direct seeded plants on drip-subsurface (10 and 30 cm depth) with mulch.
