Substrates and Irrigation Frequencies in the Development of Seedlings of Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum

Shirlene Souza Oliveira,José Darlon Nascimento Alves,Tayssa Menezes Franco,Wendel Kaian Oliveira Moreira,Francisco de Assis do Nascimento Leão,Raimundo Thiago Lima da Silva,Inayara Albuquerque Oliveira,Ricardo Shigueru Okumura,Leilane Ávila Bezerra

doi:10.5539/jas.v10n11p249

Abstract

Knowledge on the ideal conditions for the formation of high quality seedlings is fundamental to guarantee establishment success of crops in a safe and efficient manner. Here, we evaluate the effect of different substrates and irrigation frequencies on the initial growth of parica (Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum) seedlings. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the Federal Rural University of Amaz&ocirc;nia, Capit&atilde;o Po&ccedil;o, PA. Several variables were analyzed including seedling height, stem diameter, number of leaflets, shoot dry matter, root dry matter, total dry matter, height and stem diameter ratio, shoot dry matter ratio and root dry matter. We found significant differences in seedling development between the applied treatments, including a significant interaction between substrate type and irrigation regime on seedling height, stem diameter, the number of leaflets and plant growth indices, with the best response for proportions 75% soil + 25% bovine manure and 50% soil + 50% bovine manure. Therefore, the substrates containing organic compounds resulted in a higher quality of the seedlings, while the sand consistently presented the lowest increases in seedling production under the three experimental irrigation frequencies, and thus is not recommended as a substrate for the development of Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum.

Highlights

The plant species Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum (Huber ex Ducke), commonly known as parica, is native to the Amazon region and has several economic uses in the forest-based industrial sector, including use as raw material for the pulp industry (Silva et al, 2015)
For the successful establishment of silvicultural crops in the field, it is necessary that the young plants are produced in ideal nursery conditions, and in particular, abiotic factors such as temperature, solar radiation, irrigation frequency, amount of water and soil substrate can play a key role in the physiology of the seedlings
We found significant differences between the applied treatments, with the interaction between the substrate and irrigation on seedling height, stem diameter, the number of leaflets and plant growth indices (Table 4)

Summary

Introduction

The plant species Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum (Huber ex Ducke), commonly known as parica, is native to the Amazon region and has several economic uses in the forest-based industrial sector, including use as raw material for the pulp industry (Silva et al, 2015). For the successful establishment of silvicultural crops in the field, it is necessary that the young plants are produced in ideal nursery conditions, and in particular, abiotic factors such as temperature, solar radiation, irrigation frequency, amount of water and soil substrate can play a key role in the physiology of the seedlings. Optimizing conditions at germination and seedling stage can have a direct influence on the later growth of adult plants in the field, improving homogeneity in development among individuals and reduction of mortality rates (Ferreira et al, 2009). The use of suitable substrates is essential to promote the full development of the root system and, above-ground plant structures, and must contain the ideal array of nutrients. Low water availability greatly reduces establishment success in many crops, because it directly affects the production of photoassimilates essential for the production and partitioning of biomass. Optimizing irrigation frequency is of fundamental importance to avoid excessive water stress during seedling development

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