GROWTH AND QUALITY OF ARABICA COFFEE PLANTS WITH THE APPLICATION OF BIOCHAR AND BIOFERTILIZERS IN THE NURSERY

Abstract

The physiological quality of seedlings in the nursery stage is essential to guarantee their adaptation and survival to post-transplant stress in the field. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of biochar and biofertilizers on the growth and quality of Coffea arabica cv. Sarchimor-1669 plants in the nursery. The evaluated treatments were: biochar (T1), biofertilizer (T2), biochar + biofertilizer (T3), chemical fertilization (T4), and a control (T5). Biochar was applied in doses of 20 g kg-1 in the substrate. The biofertilizer used was a native microbial consortium consisting of bacteria, mycorrhizae, fungi and yeasts, which was applied in doses of 5 mL L-1 using water. The main variables under study were: dry matter content (DMC), leaf area (LA), relative growth rate (RGR), net assimilation rate (NAR) and Dickson’s quality index. The results showed significant differences (p<0.05) for all the variables evaluated. The treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4 were statistically similar, but they presented differences with respect to the control treatment. The biochar + biofertilizer mixture (T3) reached higher dry matter and leaf area per plant compared to the other treatments, with values of 8.28 g and 316.63 cm2, respectively. This treatment also recorded higher RGR, NAR and Dickson’s quality index. The quality of the plants was positively correlated with the growth variables. It is concluded that the application of biochar and biofertilizer tends to enhance both growth and quality of coffee seedlings in the nursery. However, further research is required to evaluate higher doses and application frequencies in order to achieve conclusive results.