Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different levels of soil water replacement in each phenological stage of broccoli crop cultivated in a protected environment. The experiment was conducted in a protected environment in the municipality of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil. The experimental design used was in randomized blocks 4 by 3 having four levels of water replacement (55, 70, 85, and 100% of crop evapotranspiration) applied in three phenological stages (initial, intermediate, and final), and four replications. Productivity, inflorescence fresh matter, leaf fresh matter, stem fresh matter, number of leaves, stem diameter, inflorescence height, inflorescence diameter, plant height, leaf area, inflorescence dry matter, stem dry matter and leaf dry matter were evaluated. The data were submitted to variance analysis and compared by Scott-Knott test and regression analysis. Deficit of 30% of the ETc during the final stage of the broccoli crop, reduced productivity by 7%, on the other hand for the initial and intermediate stages, there was a drop of 30% and 23% respectively. The water deficit caused significant losses in broccoli production during the first phenological stages, but the final stage was less critical.
Highlights
Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) presents lateral inflorescences or compact central inflorescence, both of dark green coloration, consisting of water (90.7%), proteins, calcium and vitamins A, B and C (Rodrigues et al, 2013)
Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) is one of the main techniques of water saving in agriculture (Chai et al, 2014), promoting improvement in the efficiency of use and net profit obtained by farmers (Nora et al, 2012; Wenneck et al, 2021)
Similar results were reported by Ayas et al (2011), when irrigation depths of 75 and 100% of ETc were applied to broccoli culture, the obtained values were 2.75 and 2.92 kg m-2, respectively
Summary
Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) presents lateral inflorescences (ramoso type) or compact central inflorescence (single head), both of dark green coloration, consisting of water (90.7%), proteins, calcium and vitamins A, B and C (Rodrigues et al, 2013). In Brazil, the cultivation of single-headed broccoli is increasing with expansion associated with the frozen food segment (Schiavon et al, 2015). It is essential to quantify the crop’s water requirement to increase production efficiency and product quality, especially during the formation of inflorescence (Schiavon et al, 2015). Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) is one of the main techniques of water saving in agriculture (Chai et al, 2014), promoting improvement in the efficiency of use and net profit obtained by farmers (Nora et al, 2012; Wenneck et al, 2021). The availability and use of water have serious socioeconomic and political consequences, technical development and management are necessary to reduce or mitigate the effects of water stress in plants (Chai et al, 2014)
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