Nutrient uptake of pepino plants in soilless cultivation

This study addresses vegetative growth and the uptake of nutrients and thei r accumulation in the vegetative and reproductive tissues of pepino (Solanu m muricatum Ait.). The study was conducted in soilless plastic house condit ions, with a planting density equivalent to 25 000 plants ha(-1) during two seasons (1997-98 and 1998-99). The plants were sampled, fractionated into leaves, stems, fruits and roots, then dried and weighed and the macronutrie nt content was analysed every 30 d for 300 d after transplanting. The yield obtained was 2 kg of fruit per plant, which is 30% of the total dry weight . The relative growth rate (RGR) ranged from 0.0028 to 0.0451 d(-1). The hi ghest N, K, Ca and Mg concentrations were recorded in the leaves, and the h ighest P concentration in the roots. The nutrient accumulation of this yiel d was 10.64, 1.12, 16.06, 10.0 and 1.58 g of N, P, K, Ca and Mg per plant r espectively. The highest accumulation of all nutrients was found in the lea ves. The nutrient with the highest specific uptake rate was K, which ranged from 0.0037 to 0.0838 g g(-1) d(-1).