AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF RADISH GENOTYPES UNDER DIFFERENT IRRIGATION DEPTHS

ABSTRACT In radish production, the choice of proper genotypes and irrigation regime is of great importance to achieve success. In light of this, the current study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance of a few radish genotypes under different irrigation strategies. The plants were grown in the city of Unaí - MG, in Brazil, under field conditions, and during two cycles, one of 40 days (from February 28 to April 8, 2015) and other of 51 days (from May 9 to June 28, 2015). The experimental design was a randomized block design in a split-plot arrangement with four replications. The treatments consisted of four irrigation strategies (50, 75, 100, and 125% of crop evapotranspiration - ETc) applied by a dripping irrigation system, while subplots consisted of three radish cultivars (Comet, Saxa, and Crimson Giant). We evaluated the following parameters: root system depth, leaf chlorophyll content, shoot fresh matter, diameter and length of tuberous root, number, and mass of commercial and non-commercial tuberous roots, and water use efficiency. All the radish genotypes showed no differences for agronomic characteristics. Under Brazilian Cerrado conditions, the most suitable irrigation strategy for radish crops is 100% of ETc.