EVALUACIÓN DE MATERIALES ORGÁNICOS COMO FUENTE DE FERTILIZACIÓN PARA LA PITAHAYA (Hylocereus spp)

Abstract

The use of inorganic fertilizers is used in the cultivation of pitahaya; however, there exist various sources of organic materials as a source of organic fertilization but its use in the cultivation of pitahaya is just beginning to appear. The present work had as its objective the evaluation of four organic materials in the growth and development of adult plants as well in cuttings of pitahaya (Hylocereus sp.). In the first experiment, a completely random design was used with a 2X5 arrangement to evaluate two ecotypes of pitahaya (Hylocereus undatus, solferina type, and Hylocereus polyrhizus, spiny type) with five organic fertilization factors (red worm castings, cow manure, goat manure, humitec and water) during two production cycles (2009 and 2010). In the second experiment the ecotype H. undatus, yellow type, was evaluated using a factorial 2X2X5 design where five substrates, two combinations (72:25 and 50:50 mixtures of soil and organic materials) with irrigation and fertilized irrigation. In the first experiment it was observed that the organic materials and auxiliary watering modified the days to flowering and fruiting and yield per plant. In the second experiment the substrates exercised an effect on the number and length of the vegetative shoots, the volume of roots and the weight of the fresh shoots.