Abstract
Among the fruit plants cultivated in Brazil, papaya (Carica papaya L.) stands out by having high productivity of fruit quality. The seedling production system of this culture needs a technology that promotes the production of plants with high physiological and sanitary quality. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the growth, dry matter accumulation and the efficiency of water use of papaya cultivars under doses of bovine biofertilizer in hydroponic culture. We used a completely randomized design with eight treatments in a factorial scheme 4 x 2, with six replications, and a useful plant per repetition totalizing 48 useful plants. Four doses of biofertilizers (D = 10, 20, 30 and 40% v/v) were tested and applied in two varieties of papaya (Sunrise Solo (C1) and Tainung-01 (C2)). During the first 60 days after sowing, the papaya cultivars were evaluated for growth, dry matter accumulation and water use efficiency in accordance to their doses of biofertilizers. The cultivar Tainung-01 has a higher potential for growth, biomass accumulation and efficient use of water in comparison with the Sunrise Solo cultivar. The doses estimated of 25 and 35% (v/v) of bovine biofertilizer promoted the greater growth and dry matter accumulation for the cultivars Sunrise Solo and Tainung-01, respectively. Key words: Carica papaya L., organic fertilization, hydroponics, seedling production. 
Highlights
Among the fruit crops in Brazil, the papaya tree (Carica papaya L.) stands out for presenting high productivity of fruit quality
Based on the above considerations, this study aimed to evaluate the growth, dry matter accumulation and efficiency of water use of papaya cultivars under doses of bovine biofertilizer in hydroponic cultivation
To the relative growth in height of the cultivar C1 (Sunrise Solo), we verified a quadratic behavior at 30, 45 and 60 days after sowing, so that it reached the growth peak when cultivated under the doses of 24, 22 and 22% (v/v) of biofertilizer, respectively (Figure 1)
Summary
Among the fruit crops in Brazil, the papaya tree (Carica papaya L.) stands out for presenting high productivity of fruit quality. Cultivars from the 'Solo' group are intended mainly for the export market, for having smaller fruits. The main cultivars of the 'Formosa' group are imported hybrids that produce larger fruits that are intended mainly for the domestic market, being used in these conventional, integrated and organic crop practices (Hafle et al, 2009; Serrano and Cattenao, 2010). Several studies have been reported in the literature with promising results of the use of biofertilizers in the seedling production from different cultures: Medeiros et al (2008) with lettuce, Probst et al (2008) in forage, Cocco et al (2008) with tobacco and Dantas et al (2014) with acerola. Based on the above considerations, this study aimed to evaluate the growth, dry matter accumulation and efficiency of water use of papaya cultivars under doses of bovine biofertilizer in hydroponic cultivation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
