The sustained development of the rural environment can make a difference in the maintenance
of the family producer in the West region of Pará, where fruit growing generates income and
employment in the field and can be an alternative for the small producer. Pitaya has taken a
prominent position due to its rusticity, low cost of implantation and high market value. This
study aimed to identify and diagnose the cultivation of pitaya in family production units as a
potential for the development of fruit growing, to understand how the introduction of pitaya
cultivation in family farming in the municipality of Santarém is taking place. Origin of the
seedlings, cultivation and management techniques and the challenges and perspectives that
these farmers have in relation to the pitaya culture and to evaluate the vegetative development
of pitaya seedlings Hylocereus costaricensis cultivated in different doses of fertilization with
substrates of organic matter (acai pits ), in an area of family farming, in the western region of
Pará. The methodology used to carry out the diagnosis was a quali-quantitative approach with
the application of a questionnaire with closed questions, descriptive objectives. The procedure
was field research and/or submission of google forms in cases that required social distancing.
As inclusion criteria were considered, family production unit and pitaya. The results provide
an understanding of the pitaya production chain, revealing that the culture is present in small
production units. Without defined cultivation techniques and specialized nurseries in the
region, producers share information and genetic material. The variety that stands out among
those cultivated is Roxa do Pará, Hilocereus costaricense, in about 95% of the production units.
Most of the fruits are sold on the property, the cost of implanting the orchard varies according
to the materials used, a large part of the implantation costs are alleviated with the reuse of
existing materials on the property, it was also evidenced that the lack of fruit is still common.
specific fertilizer recommendations for the crop, as well as phytosanitary information, but most
producers intend to expand the planted area and see great potential in the cultivation of the
fruit. To evaluate the vegetative development of the seedlings, an experiment was implemented
in a family production unit in the Planalto Santareno microregion, with different doses of açaí
seed vegetable substrate, where the control treatment without substrate, the other treatments
with increasing doses of substrate 2, 5 L, 5 L, 10 L, 20 L and 40 L, which were evaluated at 0,
90, 180, 270 and 360 days through the analysis of plant growth. The results indicated that the
most suitable fertilizer with organic substrate of açaí for the beginning of pitaya planting is 20
liters of substrate in a ridge of 100 liters, where the plants presented better development with
better cost benefit.
|
