Irrigación en plantaciones de café y su efecto en el agua residual del procesamiento de los frutos

Abstract

In the coffee beneficiation process, nutrient-rich by-products with a high organic load are generated, which in most cases they are underused and deposited, without prior treatment in the water bodies. Objective. To evaluate the influence of irrigation, on the chemical compounds of the residual water obtained from the coffee fruits of the “Rubi” variety, irrigated by central pivot. Materials and methods. The experiment was developed at the Federal University of Lavras, Brazil, during 2018. The statistical delineation used was in random blocks, with three repetitions. The treatments corresponded to five irrigation sheets (0, 60, 80, 100, 120, and 140 % of the sheet of water evaporated from the Class A tank). The sowing spacing used per plot was 3.5 m X 0.80 m, in an area of 1.6 ha-1, subdivided into eighteen plots with approximately 888 m2. The cherry fruits of the coffee were harvested from each treatment and mixed in water, in a ratio of 2 L of water: 1 L coffee fruit and then pulped in an industrial blender. The residual water obtained was analyzed through the standard method for the analysis of residual water. Results. The irrigation sheets caused a significant effect on the evaluated chemical parameters, the irrigated plants based on 57 % of the evaporated water from the Class A tank, resulted in chemical compounds within the established patterns, for the disposal of residual water in Brazil. The content of Mg, S, Mn, P, Zn, Cu, and Fe, was higher than the plots that did not receive irrigation. Conclusions. The use of irrigation in coffee, produce significant effects on the concentration of chemical compounds in the residual water of the coffee fruits of the “Rubí” variety.