Irrigation of different cultivars of rocket in Northeastern of Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil

Abstract

The literature about the agronomic performance of vegetables irrigated in the Northeast of Mato Grosso do Sul State of Brazil is still scarce, and is based on empirical experiences of producers without scientific research references. Accordingly, it is indispensable to determine the performance of new materials, which show appropriate agronomic characteristics, in function of irrigation to increase the agricultural production. Therefore, the present study had the objective to evaluate the production of different cultivars of rocket submitted to different depths of irrigation and climatic seasons. The experiment was conducted in split plot scheme, having in the plots four irrigation depths (50, 75, 100 e 125% of crop evapotranspiration - ETc) and in the subplots, three cultivars of rocket (Apreciata Folha Larga - Feltrin, Cultivada - Feltrin e Folha Larga - Top Seed) and in the sub-subplots, two climatic season (dry and rainy), in the randomized block design with four replications. The following characteristics were evaluated: mass of fresh and dry matter plant^-1, yield of fresh matter, leaf number, root depth and water use efficiency. Better performance of the rocket was observed in the dry season. The cultivar Folha Larga (Top Seed), independent of climate season, showed superior characteristics than other cultivars evaluated, the best yield of fresh matter was of 1,68 kg m^-2, obtained in the dry season with irrigation depth of 125% ETc. The irrigation provided linear effect in the dry season and did not affect during the rainy season. The rocket Folha Larga (Top Seed) should be prefered by the producers of Northeast of Mato Grosso do Sul State of Brazil and irrigated with depth equivalent to of 50 and 125% ETc, in the rainy and dry season, respectively.