Efecto de aplicaciones de distintas dosis de óxido de calcio sobre variables agronómicas en el cultivo de banano

Abstract

The banana is a fruit with excellent nutritional properties for human health, today it is the most commercialized fruit worldwide, so it is not surprising that its production is increasing more and more. In Ecuador it is the main source of income for the agricultural sector since 10% of the population lives from this crop. In the province of El Oro, banana production represents the most important agricultural activity at the economic level, so producers must meet the requirements established by international markets and provide a good quality product. It is the main activity to generate economy, which is helped by soil and climatic conditions, so farmers must provide a good quality product. Crop fertilization plays an important role in this. Calcium is an element that influences the weight of the bunch, number of hands and ratio, by regulating the water balance of the cells; applications of this element improve the firmness of the cell wall, reducing damage to the fruit. In view of the above, it was proposed in this research to evaluate the effect of different doses of calcium oxide on the banana crop. The research was conducted at the Santa Inés Experimental Farm, which belongs to the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the Technical University of Machala, located at km 5.5 via Machala-Pasaje. Different doses of calcium oxide were evaluated: T1 (control), T2 (50 kg of CaO), T3 (100 kg of CaO), T4 (150 kg of CaO) and T5 (200 kg of CaO) ha -1 year, each treatment with 18 experimental units using the fertilizer yara liva Nitrabor containing nitrogen (N), boron (B) and calcium oxide (CaO). The variables evaluated were plant height (AP), return height (AR), plant stem (FP), return stem (FR), number of hands per bunch (NMR), bunch weight (PR), number of second hand fingers (NDSM), number of last hand fingers (NDUM), length of second hand finger (LDSM), length of two last hands (LDUM), number of leaves at harvest and the ratio. To analyze the data, a one-factor ANOVA was performed with a significance of 0.05 to establish significant differences between treatments. In stem and plant height and return of recently delivered units, number of fingers and length of fingers of the second hand, no significant statistical differences were found between treatments; however, significant differences were found in bunch weight and number of hands per bunch, the best result being T5 (200 kg CaO ha-1) with a mean of 53.62 lb and 7 hands per bunch and, therefore, a higher ratio. The results obtained have shown that the use of 200 kg of CaO ha-1 per year in banana cultivation with the Nitrabor source provides an optimum dose of nitrate and boron to the crop, resulting in increased production.