Uso de cobertura morta de Flemingia macrophylla na produção orgânica de tomate tipo italiano

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most consumed vegetables in Brazil. The consumption of organic tomato has increased especially in big cities such as Rio de Janeiro. Organic cultivation of tomato is limited by its high susceptibility to a large number of pests and diseases and by the high requirement for nutrients. Technologies that will improve its production and that are in accordance with the rules of organic production should be developed. Not only productivity but the reality of the family farmer should be taken into account. The use of mulch coming from shrub legumes as Flemingia macrophylla, has great potential in organic tomato crop. The use of this legume has as advantages easiness to grow, easy adaptation to regions of hot and humid weather and slow decomposition. These features make the biomass of this legume promising for use in tomato production. The group of Italian tomato that has recently emerged in the Brazilian market and valued for fresh consumption and processing. Thus, the present work was to study the effect of different doses of mulch from Flemingia macrophylla shrub pruning’s on three tomato cultivars. Two experiments were conducted: one at the Horticulture Sector of UFRRJ - under greenhouse from September through December 2011 and the other under open field conditions at Fazendinha Agroecologica Km 47, from May through September 2012. The first experiment tested four rates (0, 5, 10 and 20 t ha-1) of mulching of Flemingia macrophylla in three tomato cultivars: 'Chico Grande', 'San Marzano' and 'ENASI1'. The row spacing used was 0,80 x 0,80 m. The second experiment evaluated the rates of 0 and 20 t ha-1 of Flemingia macrophylla mulching on two cultivars of tomato: 'Chico Grande' and 'ENASI1'. The row spacing used was 1,0 x 10 m. In the experiment conducted under greenhouse, there was no effect of flemíngea doses for all variables analyzed. Part of the lack of effect was due to plant health problems, which led to early termination of the crop. The cultivar 'Chico Grande' had the lowest defect rate compared to the two other cultivars. Higher productivity was found in cultivars 'ENASI1' and 'Chico Grande. In the field experiment there was no significant effect of the application of 20 t ha-1 of flemíngea in all tested variables, i.e. number of fruits per plant and productivity, commercial and totals. Cultivar 'Chico Grande' had the highest yield of marketable fruit compared to 'ENASI1'. Data from five harvests, suggest a positive response of the late cultivar, ie ‘Chico Grande’ to flemíngea application, which did not occur in the early cultivar 'ENASI1'. Late Cultivars seem to have been benefited by the treatment to be more synchronized with the notoriously late decomposition of flemíngea biomass.