Effect of plant density and genotype on root size and recovery of Cenourete® raw-material

Cenourete® is a cut and peeled mini carrot, produced by the abrasion of 55-60 mm cylindrical carrot root segments. The longer and the thinner the carrot root, the higher is the recovery of Cenourete®. Two new carrot genotypes obtained at Embrapa Hortaliças, Brasília, Brazil, populations 1012568 (P68) and 1012575 (P75), and the cultivar Esplanada were evaluated in relation to the production of roots for mini carrot manufacture. Two crops were cultivated in the summer of 2010-2011 under the densities 8, 10 and 12 lines/meter in order to obtain respectively 1.06, 1.33 and 1.60 million plants/ha and harvested approximately 3 months after sowing. We evaluated the total root production (kg/ha), the diameter, the length and the weight of individual roots and the production of root pieces 60 mm long with diameter in the ranges