ABSTRACT
The objective of this work was to evaluate the quality of chicory seedlings in organic substrata and their influence on yield and commercial yield in a protected environment and under direct sunlight. Seedling and field production experiments were conducted in a randomized block design with four blocks. In the first experiment, seedlings were produced on substrata by alternating the conditioner: 1) dry coconut fiber + blend (soil, organic compost, charcoal); 2) carbonized rice husk + blend; 3) crushed ouricuri stem + blend; 4) decomposed kapok stem + blend and 5) commercial substratum. Sufficient seedlings were produced for the evaluations and transplantation. In the field phase, two experiments were evaluated, one in a protected environment and another under direct sunlight. The commercial and ouricuri substrata produced seedlings with the same quality and biomass index, but above to the others. The yield (0.89 kg m-2) and commercial yield (68.29 packs m-2) in the protected environment are not affected by seedling quality. In the direct sunlight cultivation, the yield is higher when using seedlings produced with the commercial (0.75 kg m-2), ouricuri (1.07 kg m-2), or kapok substrata (0.74 kg m-2).
Keywords:
Eryngium foetidum; organic agriculture; alternative substratum; protected cultivation; organic residues
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