Early dwarf cashew cultivation with saline water and cattle manure

Abstract

A culture is an activity that stands out in the semi-arid region of the Northeast of Brazil for the management of entrepreneurship and income. However, in this region, agricultural production has been affected by excess salts in water and soil. Therefore, the search for strategies that reduce the problems caused by salinity in cashew cultivation is of great importance, with organic fertilization being a promising alternative. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the growth of the precocious dwarf cashew tree ‘BRS 226 Planalto’ under irrigation with saline water and fertilization with cattle manure. The experiment was carried out in drainage lysimeters, in a greenhouse. The experimental design used was a randomized block design, in a 5 × 4 factorial scheme with three replications, with five levels of electrical conductivity of the irrigation water (0.7; 1.4; 2.1; 2.8 and 3.5 dS m-1) and four fertilization rates with cattle manure (2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5% based on soil volume). The growth of precocious dwarf cashew was measured by the diameter of the stem of the rootstock and of the scion, the plant height, the leaf area and the number of leaves, at the 122 days after transplantation. The salinity of irrigation water from 0.7 dS m-1 inhibited the initial growth of the precocious dwarf cashew tree 'BRS 226 Planalto', at 122 days after transplanting. Fertilization with high doses of cattle manure reduced the growth variables of the precocious dwarf cashew tree 'BRS 226 Planalto'.