Agro-economic performance of bur gherkin under staking systems

ABSTRACT The bur gherkin cultivation is predominantly carried out without a staking system, but problems such as the "white belly" and fruit rot occur in this system. This study aimed to evaluate staking systems for bur gherkin plants. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with five treatments (no staking, agricultural netting staking, Mexican staking, vertical ribbon with total secondary stem thinning and vertical ribbon with alternate secondary stem thinning) and four replicates. The fresh mass and number of fruits per plant, fruit length and average diameter, number and fresh mass of fruits with white belly per plant, fresh mass per fruit and total yield were evaluated, as well as the economic indicators gross income, net income, rate of return and profitability index. For all the staking systems, the incidence of fruits with white belly was lower. The agricultural netting (43.75 t ha-1), Mexican (35.94 t ha-1) and vertical ribbon with alternate secondary stem thinning (22.24 t ha-1) systems promoted yields superior to that for no staking. The best economic indicator (US$ 21,031.46 ha-1) was observed for the agricultural netting staking, which is the most recommended for the bur gherkin cultivation.