Doses of N and K in tomato under saline stress: III. Production and fruit quality

A aplicação de doses elevadas de fertilizantes pode aumentar a tolerância das culturas aos sais, reduzindo o desequilíbrio nutricional causado pela salinidade. Para testar a hipótese, desenvolveu-se um estudo para avaliar a produção e a qualidade de frutos de tomate, híbrido Facundo, irrigado com água salina, sob diferentes doses de N e K. O trabalho foi conduzido em um ambiente protegido e os tratamentos se compunham da combinação de três níveis de N (7,5; 15,0 e 22,5 g por planta de N) e três níveis de K (8, 16 e 24 g por planta de K2O) aplicados via fertirrigação por gotejamento, no esquema fatorial 3 x 3, com cinco repetições sendo que, à água de irrigação, também foram adicionados os sais cloreto de sódio e cloreto de cálcio para obtenção de condutividade elétrica da água de 9,5 dS m-1. Não se verificaram efeitos dos tratamentos sobre os componentes de produção (produtividade, tamanho e peso médio dos frutos) nem sobre alguns parâmetros de qualidade dos frutos (concentração de nutrientes, sólidos solúveis e acidez titulável), ocorrendo aumento da concentração de K e redução de Na/K nos frutos, com o aumento da dose de K. Concluiu-se que a aplicação de doses elevadas de N e K não contribuiu para o aumento da tolerância do tomateiro a salinidade.The application of high doses of fertilizers could increase the tolerance of crops to salts by reducing the nutritional imbalance caused by salinity. In order to test this hypothesis, a study was conducted to evaluate the production and quality of tomato fruits, hybrid Facundo, irrigated with saline water, under different doses of N and K. The work was conducted in a greenhouse and the treatments were composed of the combination of three levels of N (7.5, 15.0 and 22.5 g per plant of N) and three levels of K (8, 16 and 24 g per plant of K2O) applied through drip fertigation, in the 3 x 3 factorial design, with five replications. Also the salts sodium chloride and calcium chloride were also added to irrigation water for obtaining an electrical conductivity of the irrigation water of 9.5 dS m-1. Effects of the treatments were not verified on the production components (yield, size and mean weight of fruits) nor on some parameters of the quality of the fruits (concentration of nutrients, soluble solids and titratable acidity), the concentration of K increased and the ratio Na/K reduced in the fruits with increasing dose of K. It was concluded that the application of high doses of N and K did not contribute to the increase the tolerance of tomato to salinity.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa no Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Doses of N and K in tomato under saline stress: I. Concentration of nutrients in the soil solution and plant

Em geral, culturas tolerantes à salinidade geralmente apresentam maiores teores foliares de certos nutrientes, sugerindo que a adubação em culturas sensíveis poderia elevar os teores desses nutrientes nas folhas, aumentando sua tolerância aos sais. Este trabalho teve o objetivo de estudar os efeitos do N e do K na condutividade elétrica, pH e concentração de nutrientes da solução do solo e nos teores de nutrientes e prolina nas folhas do tomateiro irrigado com água salina. Os tratamentos foram compostos da combinação de três níveis de N (7,5; 15,0 e 22,5 g por planta) e de K (8, 16 e 24 gK2O por planta) aplicados via fertirrigação por gotejamento, no esquema fatorial 3 x 3, com cinco repetições, sendo que à água de irrigação foram adicionados os sais cloreto de sódio e cloreto de cálcio, para obtenção de condutividade elétrica da água de 9,5 dS m-1. As concentrações de NO3 e K na solução do solo e de N e K nas folhas do tomateiro aumentaram com as doses de N e K mas não promoveram redução dos teores de Cl nem de Na nas folhas das plantas. O aumento do teor de prolina com as doses de K e a redução de Cl/N com as doses de N, sugerem que o aumento na adubação potássica e nitrogenada pode ser benéfico para o tomateiro sob condições de salinidade moderada.Crops tolerant to salinity generally present higher concentrations of some nutrients in the leaves, suggesting that the fertilization of sensitive crops could increase the contents of these nutrients in the leaves to increase the crop tolerance to salts. This work had the objective of studying the effects of N and K on electrical conductivity, pH and nutrient concentrations of soil solution and on concentration of nutrients and proline in the leaves of tomatos irrigated with saline water. The treatments were composed of the combination of three levels of N (7.5, 15.0 and 22.5 g per plant) and K (8, 16 and 24 g K2O per plant) applied by drip fertigation, in a 3 x 3 factorial scheme with five replications. Sodium chloride and calcium chloride were added to irrigation water for obtaining an electrical conductivity of 9.5 dS m-1. Concentrations of NO3 and K in soil solution and of N and K in the leaves increased with the doses of N and K, but did not promote the reduction of Cl and Na concentrations in the leaves. The increase of the proline concentration with the doses of K and the decrease of Cl/N with the doses of N suggest that over-fertilization with potassium and nitrogen fertilizers could be benefitial for tomato under moderate salinity conditions.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa no Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Salt accumulation and distribution in a greenhouse soil as affected by salinity of irrigation water and leaching management

The effects of irrigation water salinity, leaching fraction and its frequency of application on soil salinization were studied. Three water salinities (S1=1.54, S2=3.10 and S3=5.20 dS m-1) and two irrigation water depths associated with their application frequencies (W1=1.00 ETc; W2F1=1.25 ETc in all irrigations and W2F2=1.25 ETc when the irrigation water depth of W1 reached 100 mm where ETc is the crop evapotranspiration), were applied during the growing period of a grafted-cucumber crop in a greenhouse. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks of 3 x 3 factorial scheme with 3 replications. Soil salinity at 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 m depths increased linearly with salinity levels of water and the leaching fraction did not have any effect regardless of its management. Salt concentration was higher near the soil surface and between the adjacent drippers

Evapotranspiration and crop coefficient of cucumber in greenhouse

The evapotranspiration (ETc) and crop coefficient (Kc) of cucumber in a greenhouse were determined during the winter-spring season in Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. Crop was irrigated with water of three different levels of salinity: S1 = 1.5, S2 = 3.1 and S3 = 5.2 dS m-1. Electrical conductivity of S1 was obtained only by addition of fertilizers, as fertigation was used, and the S2 and S3 levels in addition to fertilizers received magnesium sulphate, calcium chloride and sodium chloride. Cucumber seedlings, cv. Hokushin, were grafted on squash, transplanted on beds in double rows and directed vertically with a single stem. Irrigation was performed when soil matric potential reached -30 kPa, which was determined by the mean matric potential at 0.15 and 0.30 m depths, and the depth of irrigation was calculated from a reduced-evaporation pan. A randomized block design was adopted with three replications. The ETc and Kc were found to reduce linearly by the salinity of the irrigation water with reduction in ETc of 4.6% for unit increase of salinity. Due to the reduced evapotranspiration in saline treatments, deep percolation was increased by saline water and corresponded to 4, 7 and 17% of the total applied water in S1, S2 and S3, respectively. Measured Kc values for S1 were very close to the estimated values thus the combined use of tensiometers and evaporation pan was found to be adequate for irrigation management in greenhouse

Manejo da água e nutrientes para o pepino em ambiente protegido sob fertirrigação Management of water and nutrients for fertirrigated cucumber in a greenhouse

A fertirrigação é uma prática bastante utilizada em áreas irrigadas por gotejamento e em ambiente protegido, além de indispensável para a maximização dos benefícios desse sistema de cultivo. Neste trabalho tem-se os resultados obtidos em um cultivo de pepino em ambiente protegido, seguindo-se um esquema preestabelecido de fertirrigação e manejo combinado da lâmina de irrigação. A produtividade comercial foi superior a 110 Mg ha-1 e a 76 frutos m-2, muito acima da média obtida pelos produtores do Estado de São Paulo e daquelas apresentadas em diversos trabalhos nacionais. O manejo da fertirrigação adotado pode ser utilizado como referência para futuros trabalhos com esta cultura, em ambiente protegido.Fertigation is a practice that has been widely used in drip irrigated areas and in greenhouses. It is indispensable to maximize the benefits of the cropping system. In this study, results from a cucumber cultivation in a greenhouse, following a preset fertigation scheduling and a combined method for irrigation management are presented. Marketable crop yield was over 110 Mg ha-1 and 76 fruits m-2, which is much higher than that obtained by growers of this State and else where in Brazil. The management of fertigation adapted indicated that the same could be used as a reference for future cultivation under greenhouse conditions