Production and quality of mango fruits cv. Tommy atkins fertigated with potassium in semi-arid region/Producao e qualidade de frutos de mangueira cv. Tommy atkins fertirrigada com potassio no semiarido

Correct management of potassium (K) fertilization is of fundamental importance for mango orchards, and K is one of the most exported and yield-limiting nutrients. Thus, an experiment was carried out to evaluate the production and physical-chemical characteristics of Tommy Atkins mango fruits under fertigation with different doses of potassium chloride and potassium sulfate in the semi-arid region. The experimental design was randomized blocks in split plots, using five K doses (50, 75, 100, 125 and 150% of the recommended dose) in the plots and two sources of K (potassium chloride--KCl and potassium sulfate--[K.sub.2]S[O.sub.4]) in the subplots, with four replicates. The following characteristics were evaluated: transverse and longitudinal diameters, skin thickness, fruit weight, production per plant, pulp percentage, hydrogen potential (pH), soluble solid (SS), ascorbic acid (VIT C), titratable acidity (TA) and SS/TA ratio. The doses and sources of K applied through fertigation caused significant effect on fruit physical-chemical characteristics and production per plant in Tommy Atkins mango, particularly at the dose of 349 g [plant.sup.-1] of [K.sub.2]S[O.sub.4], which led to higher production per plant and guaranteed the minimum quality required for fruit physical-chemical characteristics. Index terms: Mangifera indica L., soil fertility, physical-chemical characteristics. O correto manejo da fertilizacao potassica e de fundamental importancia para os pomares de mangueira, sendo o potassio (K) um dos nutrientes mais exportados e que mais limita a produtividade. Nesse sentido, um experimento foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de avaliar a producao e as caracteristicas fisico-quimicas dos frutos da mangueira 'Tommy Atkins' fertirrigada com diferentes doses de cloreto e sulfato de potassio no Semiarido. O delineamento experimental adotado foi o em blocos casualizados, em esquema de parcelas subdivididas, utilizando cinco doses de potassio (50; 75; 100; 125 e 150% da dose recomendada) nas parcelas e duas fontes de potassio: cloreto de potassio (KCl) e sulfato de potassio ([K.sub.2]S[O.sub.4]) nas subparcelas, com quatro repeticoes. As caracteristicas avaliadas foram: diametros transversal e longitudinal, espessura da casca, peso do fruto, producao por planta, percentual da polpa, potencial hidrogenionico (pH), solidos soluveis (SS), acido ascorbico (VIT C), acidez titulavel (AT) e relacao SS/AT. As doses e fontes de K aplicadas via fertirrigacao promoveram efe