Application of biofertilizer directly on ‘Terra Maranhão’ platain bunch for productivity gain

Sávio Da Silva Berilli,Samuel Paulo Torrezani,Ana Paula Cândido Gabriel Berilli,Lucas Louzada Pereira,Carlos Humberto Desiderio Pirovani,Mateus Francisco Pazinato

doi:10.1590/0100-29452022964

Sávio Da Silva Berilli, Samuel Paulo Torrezani + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0100-29452022964

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Abstract

Abstract Advances in production systems always aim at finding alternatives to improve crop productivity. One of the recent practices adopted in commercial banana and plantain plantations refers to the application of liquid fertilizers in bunches in order to increase productivity. This research aimed at verifying whether the use of biofertilizers based on pure vinasse or associated with other chemical fertilizers would provide morphophysiological changes in fruits or increase the productivity of ‘Terra Maranhão’ plantain cultivars. In order to carry out this project, a randomized block design with 6 treatments and 3 replicates was set up in a commercial crop and the postharvest production and quality characteristics of ‘Terra Maranhão’ plantain fruits were evaluated. The results showed that the morphophysiological characteristics of freshly harvested fruits that impact productivity such as the fruit weight and bunch weight were affected by treatments, as the postharvest characteristics of ripe fruits were little affected by the application of fertilizers in bunches, except for the SST content. It could be concluded that the crop yield increased significantly by 17% when using mixture of vinasse, potassium chloride and urea; however, this treatment caused significant reduction of 1.3 ºBrix compared to control.

Highlights

Plantains (Musa acuminata x Musa balbisiana hybrid) are cultivated and appreciated throughout Central and Latin America, and can be consumed in the fresh form or as flour in human nutrition (REIS et al, 2019)
In Brazil, the most appreciated and planted plantain cultivar is ‘Terra Maranhão’, which has long cycle compared to other cultivars and requires large amounts of nutrients in all its phases, especially in the phase of bunch weight gain
Mineral nutrition in commercial banana plantations is an essential part for the success of the activity, with fertilization directed to the soil being the main and only way of fertilization in most cases (AULAR; NATALE, et al, 2013), with fertilizer sources based on conventional chemical fertilizers and/or alternative fertilizers, such as biofertilizers

Summary

Introduction

Plantains (Musa acuminata x Musa balbisiana hybrid) are cultivated and appreciated throughout Central and Latin America, and can be consumed in the fresh form or as flour in human nutrition (REIS et al, 2019). It is known that the nutrient that this crop needs in greater amount is potassium, which directly favors bunch weight gain. With the advance in banana cultivation practices, studies on the use of biofertilizers have been developed with different purposes, including mineral nutrition and soil conditioning (RIVERA-CRUZ et al, 2008; GURAV; JADHAV, 2013; SANTOS et al.., 2014; SENTHILKUMAR et al, 2014; BERILLI et al, 2020; BERILLI et al, 2021), even as a measure against banana crop diseases (FU et al, 2017; HUANG et al, 2019; WIDYANTORO; HADIWIYONO, 2020)

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