Coriander yield as a function of green manure incorporation of hairy woodrose (Merremia aegyptia L.), rooster tree (Calotropis procera) and kills pasture (Senna uniflora L.) in a semiarid region of Brazil

Abstract

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) is an annual herbaceous vegetable crop widely produced in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil, being of great importance for farmers who work in this activity. Its cultivation is mainly aimed at meeting the demand for fresh consumption of stems and for the condiment industries. In this sense, the objective was to evaluate the coriander yield as a function of soil incorporation of hairy woodrose, rooster tree and kills pasturein a semiarid region of Brazil. The experiment was carried out at the Rafael Fernandes Experimental Farm, belonging to the Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-árido, located in the district of Alagoinha, rural area of Mossoró, Brazil. The experimental design used was in complete randomized blocks, with treatments arranged in a 4 x 3 factorial scheme, with three replications. The treatments consisted of the combination of four amounts of green manures (0.4; 0.8; 1.2 and 1.6 kg m-2) and the second factor, corresponding to three types of spontaneous species from the Brazilian semiarid region (hairy woodrose, rooster tree and kills pasture). The coriander cultivar sown was Verdão cultivar. The characteristics evaluated were the following: plant height, number of stems plant-1, productivity, number of bunches and dry mass of coriander. The highest coriander yield was obtained in amounts of green manures of 1.4; 1.6 and 1.6 kg m-2, with a maximum value of 1027; 701 and 850 g m-2 for the spontaneous species of the semiarid hairy woodrose, rooster tree and kills pasture, respectively. The largest number of sauces was obtained with the incorporation of 1.4 kg m-2 of hairy woodrose with a maximum value of 21.0 units m-2. The use of spontaneous species from the semiarid region of Brazil (hairy woodrose, rooster tree and kills pasture) is of great importance as a source of green manure in the production of coriander.