Crescimento e desempenho agronômico de cultivares de rúcula sob pleno sol e sombreamento

Abstract

Arugula (Eruca sativa M.) is a herbaceous vegetable of the Brassicaceae family, originally from the Mediterranean and Western Asia and was introduced in Brazil by Italian immigrants. Despite little technical information about its cultivation, this vegetable is widely consumed by the Brazilian population. The use of colored shade cloths provides an environment conducive to the growth, development and quality of arugula, allowing its cultivation in different seasons of the year. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate agronomic characteristics (morphometric and growth analysis), post-harvest quality and photosynthetic pigments in arugula cultivars under environments covered with black, red and silver colors of shade cloths at 50% shading and also the full sun in winter, spring, summer and autumn. The tests were conducted at the Estação Experimental Prof. Dr. Antônio Carlos dos Santos Pessoa, in the municipality of Marechal Cândido Rondon-PR, from July 2019 to June 2021, covering the following seasons: winter 2019, spring 2019, summer 2020 and autumn 2021. The experiments were conducted in a randomized block delineation, a total of four blocks, with split plots, with the plot consisting of four cultivation environments (full sun, black shading cloth, red ultranet and silver freshnet, all 50% shading), the sub plot of two arugula cultivars (Folha Larga Astro cultivar and Cultivada cultivar), and growth analysis throughout the cycle. The use of shading cloths interferes in the morphometry, growth and postharvest quality of arugula. In winter, under limited radiation conditions, higher yields are obtained in full sun cultivation for Folha larga cultivar and under red cloth for Cultivada cultivar. In spring, the environments had different effects on plant development and productivity. When in full sun and under red cloth the Folha Larga cultivar showed higher productivity. In summer and autumn, the plants under red cloth showed higher productivity, with no difference between cultivars, and the use of this cloth was an alternative for arugula cultivation in the region of the experiment. In autumn, although the plants in full sun have presented the best chemical characteristics, this does not guarantee them a market, as the producer gains in weight/volume and the consumer does not evaluate the nutritional quality before buying them, only considering their physical aspects, and, at the end of the cycle, the visual aspect of plants grown under red screen was more attractive than that of plants grown in other environments.