PLANTING DENSITIES AND HARVESTING TIMES ON THE GROWTH, YIELD AND QUALITY OF BABY LEAF BEET

• Grant number: 25/12338-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Arthur Bernardes Cecílio Filho
• Grantee: Gabriel Mangeti Barreto Mourão
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris), consumed as baby leaf, is a source of bioactive compounds and nutrients, representing a promising alternative for promoting human health. However, there is a lack of information on its cultivation management, including planting density, which is known to be a production factor that influences plant growth, development, crop productivity and the nutraceutical quality of the harvested product. This research project aims to evaluate planting densities and harvest times in baby leaf beetroot grown in a floating hydroponic system. The experiment will be conducted in a greenhouse at UNESP, Jaboticabal campus, in a randomized block design, with 10 treatments, in a 5 x 2 factorial scheme, with four replicates of the treatments. The densities of 408, 816, 1224, 1632 and 2040 plants m-² and two harvest times (10 and 13 days of growth in the floating system) will be evaluated. Growth characteristics (number and length of leaves, leaf area, fresh and dry mass of the aerial part), productivity and quality of baby leaf beetroot (contents of chlorophyll, carotenoids, anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, phenolic compounds, calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc) will be analyzed. The aim is to generate technical information to support decisions for growing baby leaf beetroot in floating hydroponics, in order to optimize and reconcile productivity and quality, benefiting the producer, the environment and the consumer.