Growth and Quality of Papaya 'Tainung 01' Seedlings Submitted to Different Irrigation Depths
Robson Prucoli Posse *
Federal Institute of Espírito Santo – Campus Itapina, Highway BR-259, Km 70, Countryside, Post Office Box 256, CEP: 29709-910, Colatina, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
Francielly Valani
Federal Institute of Espírito Santo – Campus Itapina, Highway BR-259, Km 70, Countryside, Post Office Box 256, CEP: 29709-910, Colatina, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
Vinicius de Souza Oliveira
Federal University of Espírito Santo – Center Noth of Espírito Santo, Highway BR-101, Km 60, District Litorâneo, CEP: 29932-540, São Mateus, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
Roberto Kirmse
Federal Institute of Espírito Santo – Campus Itapina, Highway BR-259, Km 70, Countryside, Post Office Box 256, CEP: 29709-910, Colatina, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
Regiane Lima Partelli
Federal Institute of Espírito Santo – Campus Itapina, Highway BR-259, Km 70, Countryside, Post Office Box 256, CEP: 29709-910, Colatina, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
Gabriel Sossai Pancieri
Federal Institute of Espírito Santo – Campus Itapina, Highway BR-259, Km 70, Countryside, Post Office Box 256, CEP: 29709-910, Colatina, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
Geilson Silva Costa
Federal Institute of Espírito Santo – Campus Itapina, Highway BR-259, Km 70, Countryside, Post Office Box 256, CEP: 29709-910, Colatina, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Performing an adequate irrigation management for the production of papaya seedlings is essential to obtain plants that express all their genetic potential. For this reason, this work aimed to evaluate the effect of different irrigation depths on the growth and quality of papaya type 'Tainung 01' seedlings. The study took place at the Federal Institute of Espírito Santo, Campus Itapina, located in the in Colatina, in the Northwest region of the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The experimental design was completely randomized with 25 repetitions for each treatment. The treatments consisted on the application of six irrigation depths: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 mm d-1. The seedlings were evaluated at 65 days after planting for the following morphological characteristics: plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area, dry mass of the aerial part, dry mass of the root system, total dry mass and Dickson quality index. The irrigation depth of 9.16 mm d-1 had a higher Dickson quality index attesting a higher quality of seedlings, being the most suitable for the production of papaya 'Tainung 01' seedlings.
Keywords: Carica papaya L., quality seedlings, irrigation management, Dickson index, vegetative development, water replenishment