Aplicação foliar de ácido salicílico no desenvolvimento e produção de pimentão em cultivo protegido

Abstract

Peppers are a vegetable that has been gaining more and more space in the consumermarket, presenting great importance both for the health of consumers due to its nutritionalcharacteristics, and for the economic sector due to its high added value. Pepper production inBrazil has been increasingly increasing, however it can present difficulties in cultivation in aprotected environment, mainly due to its high susceptibility to thermal stress. The use ofgrowth regulators that assist in plant development may be an option to improve cultivationefficiency. Salicylic acid is a biostimulant that can act by increasing plant yield anddecreasing their susceptibility to abiotic stresses. Therefore, the objective of this study was toevaluate the development of plants and production of peppers in protected cultivationsubjected to foliar application of different doses of salicylic acid during the vegetative period.The experiment was carried out in the agricultural greenhouses of the Federal University ofFronteira Sul - Chapecó campus. The experimental design used was randomized blocks, withfour treatments and five replications. The treatments carried out were composed of differentdoses of salicylic acid applied foliarly to plants during the vegetative period, being: 0.0 gramsof AS/L (control), 0.75 grams of AS/L, 1.5 grams of AS /L, and 2.25 grams of AS/L. Pepperseeds from the All Big cultivar were used. The experiment was conducted until the plantscompleted the cycle 105 days after seedling transplantation, with the evaluations beingdivided into the vegetative period and the reproductive period. In the vegetative period,evaluations were carried out from 21 to 49 days after transplanting, analyzing: plant height,number of leaves and largest leaf area of the plant. In the reproductive period, evaluationswere carried out from 49 to 105 days after transplanting, evaluating: days to flowering,number of buds and open flowers, number of fruits harvested, width and length of fruits, andaverage weight of fruits. The results obtained were subjected to analysis of variance andregression using the Sisvar statistical program. It can be concluded that the doses testednegatively helped in plant development and pepper production; Furthermore, doses of 1.75grams of AS/L and 2.25 grams of AS/L proved to be harmful to the development of pepperplants of the All Big cultivar in protected cultivation.