Abstract
ABSTRACT For proper plant growth and achievement of satisfactory yield, it is essential to replenish water and nutrients, in the right amount and time. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of soil water potential and lithothamnium doses on the growth and yield of bell pepper fruits in an organic production system. The experimental design was randomized blocks in a 5 x 4 factorial scheme, with four replicates. The treatments were five lithothamnium doses (0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 g dm-3) and four soil water potentials (-6, -24, -42 and -60 kPa). Increasing lithothamnium doses and irrigations based on increasing soil water potentials produced linear increase in plant growth and fruit production. The maximum economic efficiency of the lithothamnium fertilizer was obtained with the application of 0.54 g dm-3, corresponding to the fruit yield of 491.26 g plant-1. More frequent irrigations favor the increase in growth and yield of bell pepper in organic system.
Highlights
Bell pepper cultivation in organic production system has stood out among the producers in Brazil, especially for the increase in the quality of the product and achievement of good prices in the market
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of levels of soil water potential and doses of lithothamnium on the growth and fruit production of bell pepper cultivated in organic production system
The treatments consisted of five doses of lithothamnium (0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 g dm-3 of soil) and four soil water potentials (-6, -24, -42 and -60 kPa)
Summary
Bell pepper cultivation in organic production system has stood out among the producers in Brazil, especially for the increase in the quality of the product and achievement of good prices in the market. Besides the correctly managed irrigation, the supply of nutrients to plants through fertilization directly interferes with the process of agricultural production In this context, it is important to know the factors that influence the availability of nutrients to plants with the use of new inputs, such as the organic fertilizer lithothamnium, derived from calcareous marine algae, which has in its composition calcium carbonate, magnesium and more than 20 microelements (Dias, 2010). It is important to know the factors that influence the availability of nutrients to plants with the use of new inputs, such as the organic fertilizer lithothamnium, derived from calcareous marine algae, which has in its composition calcium carbonate, magnesium and more than 20 microelements (Dias, 2010) Research results with this fertilizer are still incipient, especially when associated with irrigation, and this technique can optimize the use of the fertilizer (Aquino et al, 2012). The obtained data were subjected to analysis of variance and, when there were significant differences, regression analyses were performed and the degrees of freedom of the treatments were decomposed into polynomial regression components, opting for the model with highest degree of significance
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