PRODUÇÃO DE PIMENTA MALAGUETA SUBMETIDA A DOSES DE HIDROGEL E LÂMINAS DE IRRIGAÇÃO

: A viable alternative for the reduction of water consumption in irrigation is the use of hydrogels. Hydrogels are water-repellent polymers capable of absorbing and retaining large amounts of water, being used as a viable alternative to improve the storage of water near the soil. However, instructions on crop management with the use of hydrogel in crops are still scarce in the specialized literature, making necessary studies to evaluate the accuracy and the possibility of using this methodology to aid irrigation management for different crops. Therefore, this experiment was elaborated and developed with the objective of evaluating the effect of the application of several doses of hydrogel and irrigation slides in the production of chilli pepper ( Capsicum frutescens) . The experiment was installed in a protected environment in the experimental area of Olericultura of the Goiano Federal Institute – Campus Urutaí, state of Goiás. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with subdivided plots in a 4x4 factorial scheme (hydrogel doses x irrigation slides), totaling 16 treatments with four replications. The quantified parameters were submitted to analysis of variance (ANOVA) by the SISVAR program. As a result the use of the 300 gram dose of hydrogel was satisfactory with the 75% evapotranspiration slide.