Plant spacing and pollen quantity on yield and quality of squash seeds

Abstract

Squash seeds yield and quality can be improved by proper population plant spacing and the pollen quantity, which influences the pollination quality and fertilization. Nine experiments were conducted as a factorial combination of three spacing between plants (0.8 x 0.3, 0.8 x 0.6 and 0.8 x 0.9 m), two quantities of pollen (50% of an anther and another entire one) and natural insect pollination. Seed and fruit production parameters, and seed quality were evaluated. A randomized complete block design, five replications, with ten plants per plot was adopted. Larger plant spacing increased the average number of mature fruits and seed yield per plant. Seed yield was directly proportional to the amount of pollen used during pollination. Higher amounts of pollen resulted in higher seed yield per area, but the plant spacing did not affect this characteristic. Manual pollination, using a whole anther, did not differ from natural pollination in relation to seed yield and quality.

Response of plant spacing on the morphology and yield of five hot pepper lines

“…The combined effects of ICPN16#7 and 70 cm × 50 cm gave the widest canopy spread. These findings are in accordance with those of Lima et al (2003) who reported that an ideal population density is necessary for optimized leaf index, so that the maximum useful radiation for photosynthesis would be intercepted (Tables 1 and 2).…”

Castor bean cake in top-dressing application as a source of nitrogen on the production and quality of zucchini organic seeds

“…A quadratic effect was observed for the mass of one thousand seeds as a function of castor bean cake doses (Figure 4) with an estimated maximum value of 131.4 g at 4 t ha -1 . The values obtained were slightly lower than those reported by Rech, Franke and Barros (2006), 152.5 g, when evaluating organic fertilization at planting and similar to those of Lima, Cardoso and Verdial (2003), 98 to 129g, when they studied pollen spacing and amount in the production of zucchini seeds, both with the same cv. Caserta.…”

“…Caserta. It is important to highlight that both in this research and in that of Lima, Cardoso and Verdial (2003) seeds were evaluated after beneficiation and with similar water content, 8%, while in Rech, Franke and Barros (2006) this information is not reported.…”

Influência de composto orgânico e fósforo sobre sementes de alface

“…Ressalta-se, também, o aumento na demanda por sementes produzidas no sistema orgânico, onde não é permitido o uso de adubos químicos solúveis, sendo a matéria orgânica a principal fonte de nutrientes para as plantas neste sistema de produção. Diversos autores já relataram o efeito benéfico da adubação orgânica na produção de alface (SANTOS et al, 2001;VILLAS BÔAS et al, 2004;YURI et al, 2004;LOPES et al, 2005;OLIVEIRA et al, 2006), porém não existem trabalhos com adubação orgânica na produção de sementes de alface.…”