Crescimento e produção do Quiabeiro (Abelmoschus Esculentus L.) cultivado com águas salinas e adubação potássica.

Abstract

Management of potassium fertilization in vegetables can attenuate the deleterious effects of salts on plants caused by irrigation with water that has high levels of salts in semi-arid regions of the Northeast, which is an alternative for agriculture, in view of the scarcity of good quality water for irrigation purposes. Thus, the present work aimed to evaluate the growth and production of okra cultivated under saline levels and doses of potassium fertilization. The research was developed under field conditions, at the Federal University of Campina Grande, located in the municipality of Pombal, Paraíba. An experimental design was used in randomized blocks with a 5 × 5 factorial scheme, corresponding to five levels of electrical conductivity of irrigation water (0.3; 1.3; 2.3, 3.3 and 4.3 dS m-1) and five doses of potassium fertilization (75; 112.5; 150; 187.5 and 225 mg of K2O kg-1 soil), with three replications and one plant per plot. Irrigation with water with an electrical conductivity of 4.3 dS m-1 drastically reduces the growth, phytomass and length of the okra fruits. The total mass of okra fruits was higher for plants that received irrigation with water with an electrical conductivity of 2.3 dS m-1 and fertilization with a dose of 50% K2O. Irrigation with low salinity water (0.3 dS m-1) combined with a dose of 50% potassium provided higher values for dry phytomass of stem, roots and total of okra plants.