Tiago Teruel Rezende

EARLY GROWTH OF COFFEE PLANTS AND SOIL FERTILITY PROPERTIES IN RESPONSE TO COFFEE HUSK APPLICATION

Coffee processing generates large amounts of husk, which can be used as organic fertilizer if technical criteria are considered. This study investigated the effect of coffee husk, applied to or incorporated into the soil, on soil fertility properties, early crop growth and nutrient accumulation in coffee plants. The experiment analyzed coffee plants in a greenhouse in pots, in randomized blocks, in a 5x2 factorial arrangement plus a control treatment, with four replicates. The treatments consisted of the combination of five coffee husk rates (3.5; 7; 14; 28, and 56 t ha -1 ), applied in two forms: spread on the surface or incorporated into the soil, plus the control treatment, without husk application. Portions of 7 dm 3 soil were blended with lime, phosphate fertilizer, as well as coffee husk rates in the treatments with residue incorporation, and incubated for 30 days. Thereafter, one coffee seedling per plot was planted, the coffee husk rates were applied on the soil surface for the treatments without residue incorporation, and the plants were left to grow for 180 days. Coffee husk applied to or incorporated into the soil surface increases the K and organic matter contents of the soil, intensifies the early growth of coffee plants and accelerates N and K accumulation in the plant shoots. The application of coffee husk on the surface is more indicated than its incorporation into the soil, and the best rate at coffee planting is equivalent to 20 t ha -1 .

Water-retaining polymer and seedling type when planting irrigated coffee

The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of a water-retaining polymer on the initial growth of coffee plants for different levels of irrigation and types of seedling. The experiment was set up in pots with a clayey soil, in a greenhouse of the Sector for Coffee Production of the Federal University of Lavras, Brazil. The experiment was arranged in a randomised block design into sub-lots with three replications, giving a total of 48 experimental units. Four levels of irrigation (25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the available water) were randomly assigned to the lots; the type of seedling (grown in bags or tubes) were randomly assigned to the sub-lots, and the use or not of the water-retaining polymer randomly assigned to the sub-sub-lots. In the treatments with water-retaining polymer, a dilution of 1.5 Kg of polymer to 400 litres of water was used at a dose of 1.5 litres of solution per plant. The following were evaluated at intervals of 60 days during the experiment (360 days from planting): stem diameter, plant height, leaf area, number of leaves and number of plagiotropic branches on the coffee plants. Hydrated water-retaining polymer favoured the growth of coffee plants under an irrigated system. Irrigation resulted in greater plant growth, with the seedlings grown in bags showing more growth than those grown in tubes.

EFEITOS DE TIPOS DE ESTACAS CAULINARES E DO AMBIENTE SOBRE O CRESCIMENTO DE MUDAS DE CAFÉ

Resumen en: Looking to contribute to the formation of an appropriate methodology for Coffea arabica L. stem shoots production through vegetative propagation, this wo...