Abstract
ABSTRACT Rational use of vinasse as a fertilizer in sugarcane cultivation is a good option to increase crop development and yield due to its nutritional support, properly dispose of the by-product, and reduce costs of mineral nutrition. However, in the field, controlling the amount of vinasse can be difficult, interfering in sugarcane development. In this sense, this study aimed to evaluate high doses of vinasse related to biometric responses in the initial growth phase of sugarcane plants. The experimental design was completely randomized, and the treatments consisted of five vinasse doses (0, 150, 300, 600, and 1200 m3 ha-1), with six replicates, except D0, three replicates, and one dose of mineral fertilizer with 70 kg ha-1 of N, 120 kg ha-1 of P2O5 and 90 kg ha-1 of K2O, with three replications. The biometric variables were evaluated in the following sequence: number of tillers per pot from 60 to 150 days after planting (DAP), plant height, number of green and dry leaves from 90 to 210 DAP, stem diameter, leaf area, and fresh and dry biomasses of roots and shoots at 210 DAP. Vinasse increased the biomass production through the number of tillers and the number of leaves compared to mineral fertilizer, promoting greater growth up to the dose of 600 m3 ha-1. The vinasse dose of 1200 m3 ha-1 decreased the plant height.
Highlights
Ethanol, whose raw material is sugarcane, is a biofuel widely consumed in Brazil
It can be observed that leaf area (LA) did not differ when comparing mineral fertilizer (MF) with vinasse doses (Table 3)
The leaf area is affected because of the number of leaves and the green area photosynthetically active on the leaf that keeps it contributing to the plant development
Summary
Ethanol, whose raw material is sugarcane, is a biofuel widely consumed in Brazil. It generates a residue, popularly known as vinasse. Due to its composition, such as that presented by Pazuch et al (2017), it can be considered as a by-product. It may replace part of the mineral fertilization for sugarcane plantations. Since the first study published by Almeida et al (1950), several studies have been conducted with vinasse to evaluate its effects on soil fertility and sugarcane yield (Silva et al, 2015; Nascimento et al, 2017; Cabral Filho et al, 2019). Given the results observed in these studies, soil fertility benefits that the practice of fertigation with vinasse promotes has been highlighted
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