Growth of Cupania vernalis seedlings produced under different substrates

Abstract

Cupania vernalis (camboatá), it can be used in carpentry and landscaping, as well as for mixed plantings used for restoration of degraded areas. The objective was to evaluate the effect of different substrates, over time, in growth of Cupania vernalis seedlings. The experiment was conducted in nursery in the municipality of St. Hel­ena - PR.  An amount of ten different substrates were tested, containing Plantmax®, leaf residue, sawdust, broiler litter, bovine manure and carbonized rice husk, in a completely randomized de­sign with five replications of twelve seedlings in split-plots design. For 210 days, height and stem diame­ter were evaluated, dry mass of roots and shoots were also determined as well as its relationship between and the leaf area for ten seedlings of each substrate. Furthermore, water retention capacity and total porosity of substrates were determined. The most of substrates provided gradual increase in diameter and height of seedlings. Substrates with Plantmax^® + sawdust + bovine manure and substrate with Plantmax^® + carbonized rice husk + bovine manure, presented, respectively, the best results for diameter (2.0 and 1.9 mm) and height (4.5 and 4.6 cm), as well as root dry mass (0.29 and 0.21 g) and dry mass of shoots (0.58 and 0.47 g).