Concentration of nutrients in the nutritive solution and yield of "cuatomate" (Solanum glaucescens Zucc.)

Abstract

The cuatomate is a plant that belongs to the Solanaceas family, of the subgenus Leptostemonum, also called “spiny Solanaceae”, because it has thorns in different parts of the organs of the plant. It is a cultivated and wild species with a high potential to be exploited in new systems of productive reconversion in the Mixteca Baja Poblana region. In order to assess their productive capacity and characterize it agronomically, an experiment was established with a completely random design, with four replications, in Atlixco, Puebla, under controlled conditions of red tezontle as a substrate in hydroponics under shade mesh. The plants evaluated were one year old, the density was one plant per m², with a distance between rows of 1.25 m and 1 m between plants. Four concentrations of the universal Steiner solution 25, 50, 75 and 100% were evaluated. The evaluated variables were number of bunches, total number of fruits accumulated and number of fruits harvested, polar and equatorial diameter of fruit, weight of fresh and dry fruit accumulated, as well as the average weight of fresh and dry fruit. The concentration of nutrients clearly influenced the number of fruits harvested and fruits accumulated, as well as the accumulated fresh weight; the other variables were not affected. The conditions of shade and hydroponics can be an alternative to encourage the cultivation of cuatomate and the increase in production; with economic potential for the Mixteca region of Puebla and other parts of the country.