Barbados gooseberry sprout production in a high-density plantation system

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).