40 DIAS DE BERÇÁRIO SÃO CAPAZES DE GERAR MUDAS DE PEPINO DE MELHOR QUALIDADE? UM ESTUDO SOBRE O MUDÃO EM PEPINO PARA CONSERVA

Abstract

The production of seedlings is one of the most dynamic sectors of several commercial chains in vegetables in Brazil and in the world. Modern, sustainable and valueadded techniques have been described in recent decades. In the production of canned cucumber, styrofoam trays are commonly used to develop seedlings around 10 to 12 days old. However, more vigorous and older seedlings can provide advantages to farmers who produce their own seedlings, as well as those who buy the seedlings used. The present work aimed to evaluate different nursery time intervals in pickled cucumber seedlings in cups, in comparison with the traditional system (10 days of nursery and in styrofoam trays), in the development of this plant in the seedling phase. The treatments were T1 (seedlings in styrofoam trays with 10 days of transplanting), T2 (seedlings in 100 ml plastic cups with 10 days transplanting), T3 (seedlings in 100 ml plastic cups with 20 days transplanting), T4 (seedlings in plastic cups 100 ml with 30 days transplant) and T5 (seedlings in plastic cups 100 ml with 40 days transplant). The experimental design was completely randomized with 50 replicates per treatment. The experiment was carried out in a single arch agricultural greenhouse. The height of the seedlings was different between treatments, with a greater effect on T4 and T5. The same response pattern was also observed for the seedling diameter. Lower values of fresh and dry masses of aerial part and root were observed in treatments T1 and T2. Despite the evidence of better quality for older cucumber seedlings (T4 and T5), future work should observe its quality in terms of production.