Comportamiento agronómico de carica papaya en asociación con Musa AAB y Passiflora edulis, en el Carmen, Manabí.

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to optimize the use of space and resources in cultivation systems. Banana, passion fruit and papaya are tropical plants that can complement each other well due to their different needs and characteristics. The banana provides shade and protection to the papaya, which can be sensitive to high solar radiation and extreme temperature fluctuations. In turn, papaya, being a faster growing plant, can help improve the microclimate around the banana and reduce soil erosion. The objective was to evaluate the agronomic and productive behavior of Carica papaya (Var. Criolla) in monoculture and in association with banana and passion fruit. The work had two treatments: T1 = papaya monoculture and T2 = Associated crop (Papaya + passion fruit + banana). The agronomic and production variables were evaluated: plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, leaf health and dry matter, number of fruits. The research used a Completely Random Design (DCA) and INFOSTAT was used to analyze the data obtained, with Tukey's significance test at 5%. As a result, it was obtained that the plant height in monoculture (papaya) and association (papaya-banana) is 4.8 m in monoculture and 5.2 m in association, the diameter of the stem is 12.96 cm in monoculture and 13.8 cm in association, the dry matter of 75.76 g in monoculture and 83.03g in association, 47 fruits per plant in monoculture cultivation and 43 fruits per plant in associated cultivation and the number of leaves per plant is 37 in monoculture cultivation and 36 average leaves in associated cultivation, therefore, there are no significant differences in the study variables.