Produção de mudas de melancia (Citrullus lanatus) em substratos alternativos

Abstract

Watermelon, a member of the Cucubitaceae Family, is considered one of the most commercially important vegetable crops in Brazil. The production of high-quality seedlings is a key step in the crop production system. This study aimed to evaluate different types of substrates for the producion of watermelon seedlings, cultivar Crimson Sweet. A completely randomized design was adopted, with the following treatments: normal soil (T1); normal soil+ carbonized rice husk (T2); normal soil + carbonized rice husk+ goat manure (T3); normal soil + carbonized rice husk + goat manure+ sawdust (T4); and normal soil + goat manure (T5), with 10 replications, totaling 50 experimental units. The parameters evaluated were plant height, root length, number of leaves, fresh mass, and dry mass. A significant effect was observed among the treatments, whith T3 and T4 being superior to T1, T2, and T5, providing higher values for plant height, number of leaves, root length, fresh mass, and dry mass. Thus, the use of the substrate composed of normal soil + carbonized rice husk + goat manure + sawdust is recommended, as it results in seedlings of better quality compared to the other evaluated substrates.