Nitrogen doses fertigated and different irrigation schemes in the arugula culture

Resumo

In vegetables, especially leafy vegetables, nitrogen (N) and water are fundamental for plant growth, being the second most absorbed and identified nutrient in the arugula leaf tissue. Water is essential for horticultural crops, so its use must be rational in order to achieve high productivity. This study aimed to investigate the effect of nitrogen doses and irrigation schemes on the productive characteristics, the chlorophyll and nitrogen contents in the arugula culture. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design subdivided in plots, with two factors: A) nitrogen doses applied in coverage (25, 50, 100, 125 and 150 mg dm^-3) and factor B) irrigation schemes (50 and 100% of the available water capacity (AWC). At harvest (37 DAE) there was a significant effect of the treatments when individually analyzed, however there was also a treatments interaction of the analyzed variables. The nitrogen content in the plant showed no effect for irrigation schemes, the highest content was found in the dose of 129 mg dm^-3 (27.8 g kg^-1), corresponding to an increase of 26% in relation to the lowest dose (25 mg dm^-3;22.07 g kg^-1). In conclusion, the supply of 150 mg dm^-3 nitrogen and full irrigation management provided substantial increase in height, leaf area and fresh mass of aerial part of the plant.