Aspectos fisiológicos e produtivos do pimentão sob estresse salino e densidade de plantas em hidroponia de baixo custo.

Abstract

Problems related to water issues limit pepper production in semi-arid regions due to poor distribution of rainfall and prolonged dry season. However, the present study aimed to evaluate gas exchange, quantum yields, growth and production of chili, All Big cv, grown in low cost hydroponics with nutrient solution, obtained by mixing brackish water with rainwater. The experiment was developed at the Federal University of Campina Grande - Paraíba in protected environment using a family hydroponic module in a completely randomized design in a 6 x 2 factorial arrangement with five replications; the treatments consisted of 6 salinity levels of the nutrient solution (1.7; 3.7; 5.7; 7.7; 9.7 and 11.7 dS m-1) and two spacing of 0.2 and 0, 3 m. The results were analyzed by variance by the "F" test and at the 0.05 probability level. The production of chili fruits was more expressive when it adopted 20 cm of spacing, accounting for up to 26.38% more in the number of fruits for the same saline range. The density of plants was determinant on the capacity of the gas exchanges and salinity, including, when reduced, mitigated its impact under the higher saline.