Abstract
ABSTRACT In the cultivation of leafy vegetables, it is common to apply high amounts of nitrogen fertilizer. The imbalance between the absorption and the use of nitrogen (N) by the plant increases the nitrate content and decreases the quality of the vegetables because nitrate has a strong association with compounds harmful to human health. On the other hand, there is a lack of information on how N dose in intercropping, in order to improve yield, affects the quality (nitrate content) of vegetables. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the nitrate content of intercropped lettuce and rocket, with nitrate content acting as a function of the nitrogen dose applied to these crops. The experiment was carried out at UNESP, Jaboticabal, SP, from September to December 2006. The experimental design was a complete randomized block design with four replications. The treatments were arranged in a 4 × 4 + 2 factorial scheme, with four varying concentrations of N each for lettuce and rocket (0, 65, 130 and 195 kg ha-1 of N), plus two treatments corresponding to lettuce and rocket monocrops. Nitrate content in lettuce under intercropping is 42% less compared to that in the monocrop. Increasing nitrogen concentrations increased nitrate levels for lettuce and rocket under intercropping; however, these levels are below those found for their respective monocrops.
Highlights
Intercropping, or mixed cropping is defined as the cultivation of two or more crops of different cycle and/or architecture simultaneously in the same area, with the products harvested not necessarily at the same time, i.e., they cohabit for at least a significant part of their cultivation cycle (LIMA et al, 2013).Considering that in general vegetables present a very slow initial growth and vary greatly in size, architecture, growth rate, land occupation, and cycle, among other characteristics, it was hypothesized that higher food production per unit area could be obtained by cultivating two or more vegetables in the same area
According to the Food Agricrop Organization (FAO) (FAO, 2014), more than 75% of vegetable production in Brazil comes from family farming
Another explanation for the lower nitrate content in the intercropping group is the way of comparing the groups, with the monocrop being compared to the average of the intercropping
Summary
Considering that in general vegetables present a very slow initial growth and vary greatly in size, architecture, growth rate, land occupation, and cycle, among other characteristics, it was hypothesized that higher food production per unit area could be obtained by cultivating two or more vegetables in the same area. This method could potentially improve the way vegetables are produced, especially effective at lowering environmental impact and increasing the profitability of agricultural activity (LINHARES et al, 2013). In the southern and southeastern regions of Brazil, vegetable production is largely carried out by the partnership between land owner and farming families
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