Produtividade e qualidade pós-colheita da minimelancia sob doses de nitrogênio e posição do fruto na planta.

Abstract

The productivity, as well as the post-harvest quality of the mini-finance under nitrogen doses and the position of the fruit in the plant can be altered from an adequate management. As a result, the objective was to evaluate the production and postharvest quality of mini watermelons in terms of different nitrogen levels and locations of the fruit in the plant. The experiment was installed with the Sugar baby hybrid, at 1.0 x 0.3 m spacing, from a randomized block design with four replications in 5 x 3 type subdivided plots. The plot consisted of nitrogen doses (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha-1) and in the subplot the locations of the fruits on the plant: basal part (5th - 8th node), intermediate (9th - 12th node) and upper (13th - 16th node). The characteristics related to the physiology, production and quality of the fruits were evaluated. In view of the results, it was observed that the average fresh weight of the fruits and the productivity were higher when the plants were fertilized with nitrogen doses ranging from 103.8 to 110.0 kg.ha-1, with the fruits fixed in the intermediate part of the plant . The content of soluble solids in watermelon fruits, a determining factor in their quality, was higher when fertilized with nitrogen up to the dose of 86.5 t.ha-1 and when the fruits were fixed in the intermediate part of the plant. The variables Liquid photosynthesis, Leaf transpiration and Stomatal conductance, on the other hand, reflected the behavior observed in the productivity of the crop, in relation to the optimum nitrogen doses, however, they did not change with the position of fruit fixation in the plant.