Fenometria, produtividade e necessidades hídricas das culturas da alface e do coentro em clima tropical.

Abstract

The study was carried out in production unit of vegetabled of company Hortaliças “Vida Verde” in partnership with the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), located in the city of Itabaiana, SE. The objective of this study was to determine the evapotranspiration (ETc) and crop coefficients (Kc) of coriander and lettuce grown in a tropical environment, as well as evaluating the fenometric variables throughout its production cycles. The ETc crops was determined based on soil water balance and reference evapotranspiration (ETo) by Penman-Monteith method (FAO/56), using collected dates from automatic weather station next to experimental site. The fenometric variables were: length of the roots and stem, leaf area and Fresh weight of shoot. The mean values of ETc for coriander and lettuce are, respectively, 139.8 and 158.5 mm while the mean values of Kc were 0.87 and 0.84 for coriander and lettuce, respectively. Results also show that coriander crop water needs are higher than lettuce during summer period. The results revealed that the coriander and lettuce in the fall period provide better development of their fenometric variables and productivity, which is the most appropriate period for the cultivation of these crops in the tropical regions.