Amaranth, quinoa, and millet growth and development under different water regimes in the Brazilian Cerrado

Adilson Jayme-Oliveira,Adley Camargo Ziviani,Walter Quadros Ribeiro Júnior,Maria Lucrécia Gerosa Ramos,Adriano Jakelaitis

doi:10.1590/s0100-204x2017000800001

Abstract

Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the growth dynamics of the cover plants amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus), quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), and millet (Pennisetum glaucum) in a Typic Acrustox, under different water regimes in the Brazilian Cerrado. The cultivation was carried out in the winter, with reduced rainfall, which facilitated the application of varying irrigation depths to the different crops. Water regimes denominated lower, lower middle, upper middle, and upper - corresponding to 217, 386, 563, and 647 mm water depths, respectively - were tested by means of an irrigation bar composed of sprinklers with different flow rates. Plant growth was quantified by weekly collections. Amaranth was the most responsive plant to water. Quinoa showed the best performance in the treatment with the upper-middle water level among the other evaluated species. Millet showed thermal sensitivity for cultivation in the winter, making grain production unfeasible; however, it showed exceptional ability to produce biomass even in the treatment with higher water deficit.

Highlights

Agriculture in the Cerrado is concentrated on few species of economic interest, such as soybean, corn, cotton, and forage crops (Acompanhamento..., 2015)
The fertilizer formulation 04-14-08 at 700 kg ha-1 (28 kg ha-1 N, 98 kg ha-1 P2O5, and 56 kg ha-1 K2O) was used at planting, and 100 kg ha-1 N was applied at 25 days after emergence (DAE)
Cover crop cultivation occurs in the summer, the experiment was conducted in the winter to isolate the effect of water from that of heat

Summary

Introduction

Agriculture in the Cerrado is concentrated on few species of economic interest, such as soybean, corn, cotton, and forage crops (Acompanhamento..., 2015). Diversification is desirable, in order to contribute to the minimization of soil degradation and pest proliferation caused by monoculture. The Cerrado shows a very pronounced dry period with severe water limitations (Assad et al, 1993), and irrigation is not always feasible, which stimulates research to select more adapted genotypes to rainfed conditions. In this sense, it is imperative that the selection of promising crops assess the behavior of genotypes under water deficit conditions.

Objectives

Methods

Results