Growth and Nutritional Status of Passiflora edulis f. Flavicarpa, With the Application of Organic Compound in Amazonian Soil

Abstract

Growth with organic fertilizers has increased in recent years because of the beneficial effect of organic matter on intensely cultivated soils and the high costs of mineral fertilizers. In order to evaluate the effects of organic compost doses produced from family farming waste on the growth and nutritional status of the passion fruit, an experiment was carried out in a greenhouse at the Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, in Belém, State of Pará, in the period from March to June, 2012. The experimental design was completely randomized, with five treatments and four replications, with each experimental plot made up by a pot with a volume of 3.6 dm3 of soil and a yellow passion fruit seedling. Five doses of organic compost (0%, 15%, 30%, 45%, and 60%) were tested out of the total volume of the substrate. The compost was formed by mixing 10% poultry litter, 20% duck litter, 15% manioc husk, 15% cassava leaf, 15% bean straw, 15% rice husk, and 10% corn cob. The different amounts of organic compost were mixed in volumetric proportions of substrate of Yellow Latosol with a sandy texture, taken from the surface layer (0-20 cm). It was found that at 97 days, the best results were achieved at the dose of 60% of the compost. The content and accumulation of macronutrients in the foliar tissue of the yellow passion fruit plants followed this descending order: K > N > Ca > P > Mg ≥ S.