Viabilidade agronômica de consórcios de brócolis e alface estabelecidos em diferentes épocas

Abstract

The production of vegetables is growing rapidly because of increased consumption, due to, among other reasons, the desire for healthy eating. To evaluate the feasibility of broccoli and lettuce intercropping as a function of the growing system and the establishment time of the intercropping, an experiment was conducted in Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil, which consisted of 11 treatments of the combination of cropping systems (monoculture and intercropping) and lettuce transplanting time (0, 7, 14, 21, 28 days after broccoli transplantation - DAT), conducted in a randomized block design with four replications. The yield of broccoli heads under intercropping did not differ from the monoculture, independent of the establishment time period of the intercropping. The lettuce yield was affected by the establishment time of the intercropping. The lettuce plants grown in intercropping at 28 DAT of broccoli did not have commercial quality. The index of efficiency in the use of the area was influenced by the time of transplant lettuc e, being reduced to the extent that transplanting of lettuce was delayed. The intercropping established up to 14 DAT of broccoli are agronomically feasible in relation to their monocultures (broccoli and lettuce).