Mineral and organic fertilizer in two Physalis species

Physalis cultivation can be an alternative of extra income for small and medium producers, mainly with the use of materials available on the property that can replace chemical fertilizer. This study aimed to evaluate agronomic parameters of Physalis peruviana and P. pubescens submitted two different sources of fertilization - chemical and organic. We evaluated plant height, shoot dry mass, production/plant, fruits diameter and weight and productivity. The organic fertilization provided better results for vegetative parameters. Regarding production, fertilization resulted in increase in mass, with no significant difference between sources. In the production of fruits/plant we obtained 156.2 g, 274.6 and 355.5 g for unfertilized, chemical and organic fertilizers, respectively, without significant differences between species. The productivity estimates were 2,370, 1,831 and 1,041 kg ha-1, for organic, mineral and unfertilized treatments, respectively. These results demonstrate that organic fertilizer with poultry manure is the best alternative as a source of nutrients, which may result in gains to the producer by the use of originated waste from other activities, as well as lower environmental contamination, either by improper disposal of waste or the use of chemical fertilizers. Key words: Nitrogen, nutrition, poultry litter, production, Solanaceae