Growth and Production of Hydroponic Pepper under Salt Stress and Plant Density

Abstract

The viability of the use of brackish water in the hydroponic cultivation of vegetables cannot dispense with auxiliary techniques such as water mixing and the use of plant densities. In this sense, the objective of the present work was to analyze the growth and production of sweet pepper, cv. All Big, under hydroponic conditions, under different levels of electrical conductivity of the nutrient solution (1.7, 3.7, 5.7, 7.7, 9.7 and 11.7 dS•m −1 ) in plants spaced every 0.2 m and 0.3 m. These treatments were distributed in a completely randomized experimental design, analyzed in a 6 × 2 factorial scheme, with five replications. The growth variables were evaluated at 60, 75 and 90 days after sowing and the production variables at the time of harvest; however, the results were submitted to analysis of variance, at a 0.05 probability level. The interaction between the electrical conductivity of the nutrient solution and the density of plants influenced the behavior of the growth and production variables of pepper (All Big). It was verified that the pepper plants had better performance of the biometric variables plant height, stem diameter and number of leaves when cultivated every 30 cm. At the time, in the analysis by plant, the production of pepper fruits was more expressive when spacing of 30 cm was adopted, however, in the tube of six meters, when 20 cm of spacing was used, the number of fruits was on average, 26.38% and 16.40% higher than lower density, in the electrical conductivities 1.7 and 11.7 dS•m −1 .

Bell pepper production under saline stress and fertigation with different K+/Ca2+ ratios in a protected environment

“…A reduction in the NMF of bell peppers due to water salinity has also been found by other authors (Arruda, Dias, Blanco, Sousa Neto, & Ferreira Neto, 2011;Furtado, Cavalcante, Chaves, Santos Júnior, & Gheyi, 2017).…”

“…These results agreed with those reported by various authors who studied the bell pepper crop under saline stress conditions, cultivated in either soil (Leonardo et al, 2007;Lima et al, 2016) or substrate (Arruda et al, 2011;Rubio et al, 2011;Nunes et al, 2013;Furtado et al, 2017;Lima et al, 2017). Reductions in fruit size and weight due to saline stress and, consequently, in the economic performance of the crop, are caused by physiological and biochemical changes in the cells or at the molecular level (Munns & Tester, 2008).…”

“…The first one was the high number of fruits with blossom-end rot, especially in treatments F1 and F2, a typical symptom of Ca deficiency in the fruits resulting from high Na + concentration, which was previously reported by various authors (Arruda et al, 2011;Nunes et al, 2013;Rubio et al, 2009). The second reason was the occurrence of small fruits in plants fertigated with nutrient solutions of higher salinity, confirming the results observed by other authors (Lima et al, 2016;Furtado et al, 2017).…”

Performance of Different Lettuce Cultivars Grown Hydroponically under Fluorescent and Light-emitting Diode Light Growth Conditions

“…This is expected because romaine and looseleaf lettuce are known to be robust and have big, broad leaves, whereas butterhead lettuce such as 'Little Gem' are typically more compact. Thus, proper plant spacing may be more critical for 'Little Gem', 'Jericho', 'All Year Round', and 'Lollo Rossa' in comparison with the other 23 lettuce cultivars (De Freitas Furtado et al 2017;Du Plooy 2009, 2013).…”