QUALIDADE PÓS-COLHEITA DE MILHO DOCE PULVERIZADO COM SILÍCIO E SUBMETIDO AO DÉFICIT HÍDRICO

Abstract

Sweet corn is a vegetable directed to the industrial processing, and little known for fresh consumption by the small number of cultivars adapted to tropical climate in Brazil. The use of silicon in agriculture shows promising results for serving as resistance inducer for plants of economic importance against the attack of pests, diseases and drought stress. Water stress compromises the yield and quality of sweet corn. However, there are few studies investigating the postharvest quality of productive structures of plants subjected to foliar spray with Si. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that corn plants, subject to the application of Si, are able to maintain the quality in post-harvest when subjected to water stress. It used a randomized block design, in 2x2 factorial design, with two doses of potassium silicate (0 and 3 L / ha) and two water tension in the soil (-15 and -60 kPa), totaling 4 treatments with four repetitions. The moisture, fixed mineral residue, lipid, protein, total carbohydrates, total energy intake, alcohol acidity, total sugars, reducing sugars into glucose, quantitative starch, pH and total solids were evaluated postharvest parameters. The maintenance of postharvest quality of sweet corn under water stress was observed with foliar sprays of Si in plants. Without Si and under water stress, the sweet corn plant produced productive structures of poor postharvest quality.