MONITORAMENTO DA DISTRIBUIÇÃO DE UMA SOLUÇÃO NO SOLO VIA FERTIRRIGAÇÃO POR GOTEJAMENTO

Abstract

Drip irrigation has been increasingly used, mainly because of its greater efficiency in water application. The objective of this experiment was to monitor the distribution of soil solution as a function of different application rates through fertigation to characterize root development and fruit yield of the pepper plant. The readings of TDR probes allowed estimates of water content and soil solution concentration. Thus, the distribution of soil solution was monitored and recorded in layers of 0.2m. The evaluation of the root system showed that the treatments 4 L h-1 and 2 L h-1 showed areas of 69.31cm2 and 45.21cm2, respectively. Productivity was 17 and 24 t ha-1, respectively for 2 L h-1 and 4 L h-1, which corroborates the results obtained for nutrient distribution, leaves counting and root system development of pepper plant. Therefore, for the treatment with a flow rate of 2 L h-1 a trend towards nutrient loss by leaching was observed, which increases potential contamination of the groundwater. The dripper with flow rate of 4 L h-1 supplied water and nutrients to the soil profile, which favored crop development.