Various compositions containing organic substrates to produce Eugenia uniflora L. seedlings

Abstract

The use of substrates formulated with agro-industrial residues, such as coconut shell fiber, sawdust, and carbonized rice husk, is among the sustainable alternatives to decrease the production costs of seedlings of plant species. This study aimed to evaluate the use of various substrates for obtaining high quality Eugenia uniflora L. seedlings. The experiment was conducted at the Federal University of Pampa (UNIPAMPA) – Campus in São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, by sowing directly into 200 cm3 polypropylene tubes, testing various substrates (50% commercial substrate Plantmax® + 50% rice husk; commercial substrate Plantmax®; 50% commercial substrate Plantmax® + 50% coconut shell fiber; and 50% commercial substrate Plantmax® + 50% sawdust). Every 3 days, the number of emerged seedlings was evaluated and, after 180 days, the following morphological features were analyzed: shoot height, stem diameter, number of leaves, root and total fresh weight, shoot, root, and total dry weight, and Dickson’s quality index. The results indicate that all substrates were suitable for Eugenia uniflora emergence, but that containing 50% commercial substrate Plantmax® + 50% sawdust provided a delay in the emergence of this Myrtaceae; also, substrates containing 50% commercial substrate Plantmax® + 50% husk rice and 50% commercial substrate Plantmax® + 50% coconut shell fiber showed to be satisfactory for the growth of Eugenia uniflora seedlings.

Keywords

• Coconut shell fiber
• Plantmax®
• Rice husk
• Surinam cherry tree