Efeito dos níveis de irrigação, do tratamento de água e do tipo de substrato na produção e qualidade pós-colheita de tomate cereja

Abstract

This study sought to understand how the use of magnetized water, combined with different irrigation levels and substrate types, influences the production and postharvest quality of cherry tomatoes, both on-plant and postharvest ripening, in order to guide producers toward more efficient and sustainable agricultural practices. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the production and quality of cherry tomatoes (Sweet Heaven) subjected to different levels of irrigation, water treatment, and substrate types, both on-plant and postharvest ripening. The work was divided into two stages. In the first stage, the experimental design was completely randomized in a 5x2x2 factorial scheme with seven replicates. The first factor was five fractions of the water replacement volume (I) (I30%, I60%, I90%, I120%, and I150%). The second factor was the magnetic water treatment (TW) (MTW - magnetically treated water; NT - untreated water). The third factor was the substrate type (TS) (SS - Dystrophic Red Latosol; CFS - Coconut Fiber). In the second stage, in addition to the experimental factors mentioned above (I, TW, and TS), two more factors were added, resulting in a 5x2x2x2 factorial scheme, in which the fruit ripening site (RP) was specifically added to the postharvest fruit quality analyses (fruit ripened on the plant (P) and fruit ripened after harvest (HP)). For these analyses, three replicates per treatment were used. Magnetic irrigation water treatment had no significant effect (p≤0.05) on the production or postharvest quality parameters evaluated. The use of higher water replacement fractions associated with coconut fiber resulted in higher tomato production. Cultivation in coconut fiber combined with irrigation depths above the substrate's retention capacity (I120% and I150%) provided the best production results. However, TS had no influence on postharvest quality results, with the best results being obtained with the use of the lowest irrigation depth (I30%) associated with tomato ripening on the plant.