Increase of nutrients export and production of pitaya whit potassium fertilization

Abstract

Characterization works of pitayas show that the potassium (K) is the nutrient most exported, thus, influences in the productivity and quality of this fruit. However, these researches do not report the nutrients export by pitaya's associating the fertilization carried out in the orchard, information that is relevant to make the nutrients reposition adequate at the time of fertilization. The research was carried out to evaluate the supply of K2O in the export of nutrients and productivity of the Hylocereus undatus and Hylocereus polyrhizus pitaya species. The analysis was carried out in the mature fruits harvested in two harvests. Potassium fertilization was performed at doses of 0; 50; 100 and 200 g of K2O per plant. Nutrient export per ton of fruit was calculated from the determination of the nutrient levels and the dry matter of the pitaya pulp. The export of nutrients by the pitaya of the species H. undatus and H. polyrhizus occurs in the following order: K>N>P>Ca>Mg> and Mn>Fe>Cu>Zn>B. These species of pitaya have similar nutritional requirements, enabling them to be receive same fertilization management. The amount of nutrients exported was higher in plants fertilized with potassium due to the higher productivity achieved. Orchards of pitaya that reach high productivity require a greater quantity of nutrients, due to the increase export by the fruits.

Productive potential and quality of pitaya with nitrogen fertilization

“…The order of nutrient content in the cladodes can be changed depending on the management carried out in the orchard, the soil cultivation, and the yield achieved. However, they serve as an indication for the planning of orchards, in the sense of making available the nutrients that are demanded by the species of pitaya in greater quantities, to ensure a high yield of commercial quality fruit, since the nutrients observed in greater quantity in the dry mass of the cladodes are present in the most exported by fruit (Rabelo et al, 2020b). Therefore, it is essential to provide an adequate fertilization of nutrients, such as N, that is used and exported in large quantities.…”

“…bras., Brasília, v.56, e01882, 2021 DOI: 10.1590/S1678-3921.pab2021.v56.01882 analysis, at 1% and 5% probabilities, using the program R 3.6.1. Regression analysis was performed for the rate unfolding within the species (Rabelo et al, 2020b). The species were analyzed separately, and there was no comparison between them, since each species has its different growth and production characteristics (Turcios & Miranda, 1998).…”

“…Nitrogen is among the main nutrients required by pitaya species (Hernández, 2000) to stimulate the emission of more vigorous roots and cladodes that will sustain a high yield, and it is more demanded by plants from the vegetative growth until the preflowering stage (Luders & McMahon, 2006). Nitrogen is among the nutrients most accumulated by pitaya in the period of the greatest cladode growth (Lima et al, 2019;Rabelo et al, 2020b). Pitaya with N deficiency is susceptible to the action of phytopathogens (Valencia Botín et al, 2003) that may lead to a reduced yield.…”

Commercial productivity and quality of pitaya as a function of number of fruits per cladode

“…In research studies, variation in productivity has been attributed to the uneven size of fruits, demonstrating that the number of fruits per plant is related to its composition, quality and productivity (Fernandes et al, 2018;Rabelo et al, 2020a;Rabelo et al, 2020b;Alves et al, 2021).…”