Application management of Codasal Plus 2000 on Italian Zucchini irrigated with saline water

Abstract

Zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.) is one of the main economically important vegetables in Brazil, but its production is limited in semi-arid regions due to its water requirement. This study evaluated the effect of Codasal Plus 2000 in different application management on zucchini crops irrigated with saline water. The experiment was carried out at the Federal Rural University of Semi-Árido, Mossoró-RN. A randomized block design was adopted with two salinity levels of irrigation water (S1 - 0.5 dS m-1; S2 - 5.0 dS m-1) and six application managements of Codasal Plus 2000 ((M1 - Absence (H2O); M2 - every 7 days (2 L ha-1); M3 - every 7 days (4 L ha-1); M4 - every 14 days (4 L ha-1); M5 - every 14 days (8 L ha-1); M6 - every 14 days (6 L ha-1)). Growth and production variables were evaluated. Regardless of application management, the dry mass of the vegetative part, dry mass of the fruits and total dry mass reduced by an average of 34.16%, 49.29% and 21.78. %, respectively, at the highest salinity. In fruits, the number, fresh mass and productivity were reduced by 67.75%, 21.77% and 72.48%, respectively, at the highest salinity level. Codasal Plus 2000 was unable to mitigate the negative effects of saline water.