Use of mulches and their effects on the radish crop

• Main Authors: Jerffson L. Santos, Cinira de A. F. Fernandes, Luan S. Oliveira, Cristina M. de Jesus, John S. Porto, Tiyoko N. H. Rebouças
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Campina Grande
• Series: Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental - Agriambi
• Subjects: Raphanus sativus; Leucaena leucocephala; Pterogyne nitens Tull; Panicum maximum; production
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1415-43662016001100955&lng=en&tlng=en

ABSTRACT This work aimed to evaluate the influence of green fertilization and the compost on the production of radish, cv. ‘Cometa’. The experimental design was randomized blocks with 6 treatments and 4 replicates: T1 - Leucaena, T2 - ‘Madeira-nova’, T3 - Compost (maize straw and composted cattle manure), T4 – ‘Sempre verde’ grass + compost and T5 – ‘Sempre verde’ grass and T6 - control without fertilization, totaling 24 experimental plots. The total area of the experimental plot was 1.44 m2, with useful area of 0.80 m2 and 21.0 t ha-1 of fertilizer (dry basis) were incorporated in each treatment. The radish crop was directly sown in the beds, in 2- to 3-cm-deep holes, leaving one plant at spacing of 20 cm between rows and 5 cm between plants. Twenty-nine days after planting, plants were evaluated for total yield, commercial yield, percentages of commercial roots (%) and waste roots (%), fresh and dry matter of shoots and roots, total and individual leaf area and the SPAD index. The incorporation of Leucaena at the amount of 21.0 t ha-1 (dry basis) promoted the highest increments for the analyzed characteristics.