Efeito de sacarose e de fertilizannte de liberação lenta na produção de mudas por estacas caulinares de Coffea arabica L.

Abstract

Perfecting Coffea arabica L. seedling production methodology via vegetative propagation through cutting technique, in commercial scale, is important in order to make the technique available to the producers, for it allows the commercial exploration of hybrids which present superior characteristics to the commercial cultivar. This may represent an advance in the genetic improvement programs for the C. arabica species. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the gradual supplying of nutrients by the slow release fertilizer, and the effect of sucrose with foliar application during the rooting period of the stakes. The experiment was installed in a completely randomized design with three replicates, eight stakes per plot and 12 treatments in a 4 x 3 factorial scheme, with four doses of the formulation 15-09-12 of Osmocote: 0; 1.0; 2.0 and 3.0 grams/dibble tube and three concentrations of sugar: 0; 2.5 and 5.0%. We used stem stakes of the Acaiá Cerrado MG 1474 cultivar with five centimeters of length and a pair of leaves reduced to half the foliar area. After 138 days of the experiment’s installation, we performed evaluations of root system as well as of the areal part. According to the results, we observed that the sucrose presented a direct effect on the root system, increasing root dry mass, while the osmocote presented an effect on the root system, increasing especially the amount of radicels, as well as on the areal part, providing the growth of vigorous seedlings. The use of osmocote and sucrose allowed the formation of coffee seedlings via cutting, within a period of time equivalent to that spent in the formation of seedlings via seeds.