Propagação assexuada da serigueleira e seu desempenho produtivo.

Abstract

The Spondias purpurea is a fruit species originating from Central America, but has developed excellent adaptive conditions in South American countries. In the Brazilian Northeast, this species is found and cultivated in domestic orchards which, as it presents tasty fruits, has an excellent acceptance in the human diet. The research aimed to evaluate the production of rubber trees in the third year of cultivation using the cutting method. Furthermore, check the correlation between stem diameter and production; number of branches and production; analyze the longitudinal and transverse length of fruits in response to treatments; diagnose the attack of insect pests and diseases in crops. The experimental area is located in the municipality of Jaçanã in Rio Grande do Norte, on the Chã da Bolandeira rural property. The experiment was in randomized blocks with five named treatments, according to the length of cuttings: T1 - 0.8 m; T2 - 1.0 m; T3 - 1.2 m; T4 - 1.4 m and T5 - 1.6 m. The variables investigated were stem diameter, number of branches, total fruit production, longitudinal and transverse length of fruits and the occurrence of damage caused by attacks by insect pests and diseases. The collected data were subjected to analysis of variance and the means compared using the Tukey test at 5%. The production of the seriguel tree presented an annual weight of 56.065 kg, demonstrating that, despite still being young plants, the total production is satisfactory and the prospect is that this number will increase in the coming years of cultivation. The correlation between stem diameter and production is perfect and positive, as is the correlation between the number of branches and production. The longitudinal and transverse length of the fruits in response to the different lengths of the cuttings did not show significant differences, that is, regardless of the plant treatments, there was no interference in the longitudinal and transverse length of the fruits. There was an attack by termites, arapuá bees and the powdery mildew fungus, which compromised the commercial acceptance and palatability of some fruits.