Effect of CO2 applied to the lettuce crop (lactuca sativa l.) through irrigation water and the environment.

Author(s)

Tamara Maria Gomes

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Piracicaba.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC)
• Defense date: 2001-12-19

Examining board members

Tarlei Arriel Botrel; Jose Antonio Frizzone; Rumy Goto; Eduardo Caruso Machado; Joao Tessarioli Neto

• Advisor: Tarlei Arriel Botrel

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of different CO2 application rates and periods via drip irrigation water on the development and nutritional state of lettuce plants, its productivity, further to the effects on the solution and CO2 flow in the soil, irrigation water pH and on the concentration in the atmosphere. The experiments were carried out in different periods for two years (1999 and 2000), at the Garden of the Biological Sciences Department of ESALQ/USP, in Piracicaba-SP, at 22º 42' 30' S latitude and 47º 30' 00' longitude. The first stage included preliminary tests to determine the CO2 concentration whose response would reflect the photosynthesis of the lettuce crop. The second and third stages were represented by four experiments to test the CO2 rates, determined at the first stage, and to observe the effects provoked by its application via irrigation water on the lettuce crop, on the atmosphere, on the soil and on the irrigation water. At these stages the experiments were conducted under plastic tunnels in a completely randomized block design. The treatments included CO2 rates - 0, 52, 155 and 310 kg ha-1 and distinct application periods - TT, T3/4, T1/2, T1/4 referring to the total and final ¾, ½ and ¼ of the crop cycle, respectively. CO2 was also applied to the environment in one of the experiments at a 155 kg ha-1 rate for comparative analysis with the CO2 applied via irrigation water. The irrigation was daily performed based on a class A evaporation tank, amended by the crop and tank coefficient (Kc and Kp, respectively). The CO2 monitoring was performed in the treatments receiving CO2 via irrigation water and via air. The 600 micromol CO2 mol-1 provided increased photosynthesis in lettuce. The CO2 application via irrigation water modified the development of the lettuce plants. The 52 and 155 kg ha-1 CO2 rates applied via water promoted an increased productivity for both cultivars studied, reaching values of up to 26% in comparison with the control plant, differently from the 310 kg ha-1 application rate, which failed to provide a positive response in the development of the plants. The soil-related analyses showed changes after the CO2 was applied through irrigation water, and the potassium ion was modified in the soil solution and in the aerial part of the plant, the CO2 flow in the soil increased with the higher applied CO2 rate, and the soil pH tended to decrease, together with the irrigation water pH. The application of CO2 via water did not change the concentration of the environmental CO2. With the CO2 application via air the atmospheric CO2 increased simultaneously with the application, returning to the normal concentration when the operation was completed. The most adequate period for CO2 application during the development cycle of the crop was verified at the last quarter of the cultivation cycle. The economical analysis indicated the viability of CO2 application via irrigation water for the lettuce crop under the conditions in which these experiments were conducted. (AU)