BIOESTIMULANTES, CONDICIONADORES DE SOLO E IRRIGAÇÃO NA CULTURA DO ABACAXI

Abstract

The pineapple cultivation plays an extremely important role in the economic development of different states in Brazil, thus, there is a need to promote strategies that seek greater yield and profitability for the farmer. The irrigation is a practice with high potential; new strategies have been studied to increase yield in agriculture such as the use of biostimulants and soil conditioners. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate biostimulants, soil conditioners, and irrigation on fruit quality, yield, and economic viability concerning to 'Pérola' pineapple cultivar in Ceres municipality, Goiás State (GO), Brazil. The experiment was carried out from November 2020 to August 2022 in the experimental area of Goiano Federal Institute, Ceres Campus. The experimental design was in randomized blocks with split plot in a 2 x 8 factorial arrangement and four replicates. The first factor consisted of two cropping systems (irrigated and rainfed) applied on the plots. The second treatment consisted of eight applications of biostimulants and soil conditioners at different stages of the pineapple plant (soil, vegetative, and reproductive). The variables analyzed in the field were: (a) length, width, and leaf area of 'D' leaf; (b) total plant leaf area; (c) fruit mass; (d) fruit diameter; (e) fruit length without crown; (f) crown length; (g) crown mass; (h) width; (i) length and number of berries; (j) number of little and big shoots; (k) percentage of losses; (l) fruit yield; (m) fruit class; and (n) economic analysis. The non-irrigated pineapple cultivation did not produce fruits of commercial standard; on the other hand, the irrigation provided 98.34% of harvested fruits to be used. There was no response from the biostimulant and soil conditioner application for the variables studied, except for the length of 'D' leaf. The average number of little shoots per hectare was higher in the treatment with irrigation. Irrigation promoted an increase in leaf area and greater length of the 'D' leaf at the time of floral induction. Irrigation provided an average yield of 62,020.56 kg ha-1, corresponding to 2.8 times the total yield of the Goiás State. The total production cost (TPC) was 36.95% for irrigation, 27.84% for inputs and 11.77% for manual operations. The irrigation promoted an increase in yield, being an economically viable investment for the pineapple cultivation. The results obtained with the pineapple cultivation in Ceres, GO, suggest that it is a profitable investment.