Foliar fertilization in the propagation of conilon coffee in alternative substrates

Abstract

Tannery sludge has been highlighted for substrate use in the propagation of seedlings, combining the solution of an environmental problem with its potential for agronomic use. However, when a new fertilizer component enters into the composition of a substrate, it remains to be seen whether other characteristics are affected. Thus, the objective of this work was to verify whether supplementary foliar fertilization is necessary when using a substrate with tannery sludge in the propagation of conilon coffee seedlings of the variety “Vitótria Incaper-8142”. A 2˟13 factorial arrangement was used, the first factor being the presence or absence of conventional leaf fertilization, and the second factor being the 13 coffee conilon Vitoria-Incaper 8142 genotypes arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The genotypes V7 and V9 presented leaves of reduced size, leading to a smaller leaf area, which coincided with a lower accumulation of aerial and total dry matter mass. Higher flavonoid indexes were found in the genotypes V1, V2, V6, and V13, indicating a higher sensitivity of these materials to the components present in the tannery sludge. In general, fertilization provided better initial development as well as a better seedling quality index.