Abstract
Arrowroot rhizomes are rich in carbohydrate and are commonly grown by family farmers who have an important source of income in this activity and play a prominent role in the conservation of the species. There are few studies on the phytotechnical aspects of culture. The objective of this work was to evaluate the productive capacity of the ‘common’ arrowroot using different sizes and forms of propagation, aiming at the production of rhizomes and arrowroot starch, in different agricultural crops. The experimental design was the randomized block in a 4 × 2 factorial scheme, with 6 replicates. Four types of rhizome propagation (rhizomes-seeds of small size with a weight of 20 to 30 g; rhizomes-seeds of average weight between 30.01 to 45 g; rhizomes-seeds of large size weighing between 45.01 a 60 g, and seedlings produced in tissue culture), in two agricultural years (2015/2016 and 2016/2017). The variables total production, number of rhizomes, extraction yield and total starch production were evaluated. The type of propagule used interfered in the yield of rhizomes (9.85 to 34.75 t ha-1) and in the production of arrowroot starch (1.76 to 7.68 t ha-1). The vegetative propagation with pieces of rhizomes-seeds between 20 and 60 g was more viable than the micropropagation technique. Although the soil and climate conditions showed differences between the agricultural crops studied, they did not significantly influence the yield of rhizomes and arrowroot starch, by the type of propagule used.
Highlights
Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea L.) is a tropical South American crop with starch valued in the international market for its quality as a food ingredient
The following factors were considered in the experiments: production of arrowroot from different types of propagation; between different agricultural years (2015/2016 and 2016/2017), under a 4 × 2 factorial scheme, with 6 replicates
The analysis of variance shows that the productivity of arrowroot rhizomes was influenced by the type of propagules and the year of production (p < 0.05), there was no interaction between the factors studied (p > 0.05)
Summary
Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea L.) is a tropical South American crop with starch valued in the international market for its quality as a food ingredient. Due to the diffusion of knowledge about the topic, it is imperative to study the basic management and post-harvest techniques of arrowroot for starch production (Souza et al, 2017; Moreno et al, 2017). The commercial production of arrowroot is carried out by asexual (vegetative) or clonal propagation, being this technique feasible to maintain the characteristics of the matrix plant, to allow uniformity in the seedlings, to produce high quality food and to reduce the cost of production (Chagas et al, 2008; Hartmann, 2002)
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