Desempenho do mamoeiro com semeadura direta submetido a lâminas de irrigação no semiárido baiano

Abstract

The semi-arid region stands out in fruit production, due to good climatic and soil conditions. However, due to the scarcity of rainfall, agricultural systems require the use of irrigation and adequate management is essential to maximize the water use efficiency of agricultural crops. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the papaya's response to four irrigation depths in the Baiano semi-arid conditions. The work was conducted at Brejo farm, municipality of Guanambi, state of Bahia. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with four treatments (50%; 75%; 100%; and 125% of the water replacement blade until the field capacity condition), in which at the end of the experiment, these treatments resulted in following blades applied: 441.58, 662.36, 877.86 and 1103.94 mm, respectively. Each experimental plot was composed of 16 plants, with the useful plot constituted by the 4 central plants. The irrigation was carried out with support in the soil, based on the soil water retention curve. Floral biology (number of hermaphrodite flowers; number of male or sterile flowers; carpeloid flowers and pentandrous flowers), fruit characteristics (physical and chemical quality), non-commercial fruits, productivity and efficiency in the use of water were evaluated. In the edaphoclimatic conditions of the Baiano semiarid, papaya showed better performance of floral biology with the increase of the irrigation depth, reducing the number of sterile and anomalous flowers. In the edaphoclimatic conditions of the Baiano semiarid, the papaya tree showed better performance of floral biology with the increase of the irrigation depth, reducing the number of sterile and anomalous flowers. The highest calculated yield (49.99 t ha-1 ) and the lowest number of non-commercial fruits (7.8 fruits experimental plot-1 ) were found with the total amount of irrigation of 1,103.94 mm. The increase in irrigation depths positively influenced most of the fruit quality parameters, with a decrease in the values of some, but still within the commercialization standards. As the increase the irrigation depth, there was dropped in the efficiency of water use due to water losses through percolation. However, the reduction in efficiency was not significant, and the irrigation management of papaya in this region can be programmed with 100 to 125% of the applied blade.