ABSTRACT Along the line that health-beneficial foods must also be accompanied by sustainable agricultural practices, the red alga Lithothamnium sp. (Rhodophyta), frequently used for animal and human nutrition, it was shown that it could be a biofertilizer, regarding their bioactive humic acid content, released by micronization. Also, onions present well-known benefits to health and are among the main vegetable crops grown worldwide. Thus, the objective this work was to evaluate the effects of foliar sprays with micronized Lithothamniun sp. on yield, mineral nutrients, flavonoids, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity before and after storage of bulbs of two organically grown onion cultivars. The yield, mineral content, antioxidant activity, and phenolic and flavonoid content in onion bulbs were improved through sprays, highlighting the dose of 1.5 g L-1 of Lithothamnium sp. in solution. Genotype interactions and storage effects were observed. The benefits with the use of Lithothamnium sp. as biofertilizer were towards the biofortification of organically grown onions by improving mineral nutrient acquisition as it was followed by upgrading antioxidant capacity.

ABSTRACT Barbados gooseberry (BGB) is a non-conventional vegetable highlighted for its nutritional value, particularly its protein content. However, there is a lack of scientific information for improving the plantation system of this plant. This research proposed to evaluate high-density systems to cultivate BGB plants for sprout production. The experiment was carried out in the Horticulture Sector of the Canguiri Experimental Station Farm from UFPR, located in the county of Pinhais, Paraná State, Brazil. BGB was planted in open field beds using distinctive plantation systems according to plant stands and pruning and thinning management. The experimental design was randomized blocks with three repetitions per treatment. Five high-density plantation systems (treatments) were tested: 10 (10?10): 10 × 10 cm; 2) (20?20): 20 × 20 cm; and 3) (30?30): 30 × 30 cm spacing with thinning to keep one sprout growing per primary branch per plant; 4) (30?30TS) was represented by 30 × 30 cm spacing with thinning to keep one sprout growing from each of two secondary branches grown from the primary branch to give two sprouts (TS) per plant; 5) (30?30FS) consisted of plants with 30 × 30 cm spacing with no thinning (FS = free growing sprouts). The first three treatments were thinned to one sprout per plant. Protein content of BGB sprouts was also determined to verify its real protein content. A high-density plantation system promoted BGB sprouts productivity with high protein content (28.8% from leaves of sprout). Treatment 5 produced the highest yield (21.7 t/ha per month).

RESUMO O ora-pro-nóbis (OPN) é uma olerícola não convencional que se destaca pelo seu valor nutricional, especialmente, em relação a seu teor proteico. Porém, há escassez de informações técnico-científicas sobre sistemas de cultivo recomendados. Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar a produção de brotos de OPN em sistema superadensado. O experimento foi desenvolvido no Setor de Horticultura da Fazenda Experimental Canguiri da UFPR, em Pinhais-PR. Para isso, efetuou-se o plantio do OPN em canteiros a céu aberto em diferentes sistemas de cultivo que variaram conforme a densidade de plantas (espaçamento) e manejo de podas e desbrotas. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso com três repetições por tratamento. Foram testados cinco sistemas de cultivo em alta densidade de plantio (tratamentos): 1) 10 cm × 10 cm, 2) 20 cm × 20 cm, 3) 30 cm × 30 cm, 4) 30 cm × 30 cm e 5) 30 cm × 30 cm de espaçamento de plantio; sendo os três primeiros com desbrotas para produção de um broto por planta por colheita, o quarto com desbrota para produção de dois brotos por planta por colheita e o último sem desbrotas para livre produção de brotos. Foi também avaliada a porcentagem de proteína nos brotos de OPN para verificar o seu real conteúdo proteico. Os resultados mostraram que sistema de cultivo superadensado do OPN promove alta produtividade ao mesmo tempo que oferece um produto de alto conteúdo proteico (28,8% em folhas de broto). O cultivo no espaçamento de 30 × 30 cm e sem desbrotas proporcionou a maior produção de brotos (27,1 t/ha por mês).