NOVAES, M. C.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/6824628206594532; NOVAES, Maurício Cavalcante de.
Resumo:
The eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is a vegetable fruit that belongs to the
solanaceous family,considered demanding in nitrogen (N) for adequate production.
Our working hypothesis is that of silicon (Si) may increase the efficiency of nitrogen
fertilization and reduces the doses to be applied. Aimed to evaluate the effect of
doses of silicon and nitrogen on growth, yield and fruit quality of eggplant. The
experiment were conducted at the Centro de Ciências e Tecnologia Agroalimentar
(CCTA/UFCG), Campus Pombal - PB, with eggplants cultivate "Embu". The
treatments consisting with five the N rates (25, 125, 250, 350 and 500 mg dm-3) and
two Si rates (silicon and without foliar application of a 10 mmol L-1 Si) completely
randomized design, in a 5 x 2 factorial arrangement with three replications. During
pre-flowering, were evaluated growth, gas exchanges the contents of fractional
nitrogen (NO3
-, NH4
+, and total and organic), the estimated N use efficiency (NUE)
and Si content in the leaves, number of fruits per plant, yield per plant, average fruit
weight, the longitudinal and transverse diameter, firmness, °Brix, the pH of the pulp,
the vitamin content C and titratable acidity. Nitrogen fertilization of eggplant favored
their growth, gas exchange and all fractions of nitrogen in the tissues, but had no
effect on the production set of fruits. Silicon fertilization did not affect the growth or
the nitrogen nutrition of eggplant, but affected the quality and increased fruit
production, independent of nitrogen fertilization.