Forage grasses were grown in order to select a number of species to be used as vegetative cover on ramps for wastewater treatment. The common rye grass (Lolium multiflorum), common black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb) and pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum) were used and subjected to application of wastewater from the washing and pulping of coffee cherries (ARC) at a rate of 250 kg ha-1 d-1 BOD5 . The same vegetative species were grown as control, and provided with conventional fertilization as well as water from the local supplying system at the same volume as the others. The accumulated productivities of the dry matter were 11.71, 10.04, and 5.04 t ha-1, while those of the raw protein were 1934, 1583 and 875 kg ha-1 for common rye grass, pearl millet and common black oat, respectively. The results allow to conclude that the common rye grass was more appropriate to be used on the ramps of the ARC disposed on soil, since it showed a higher accumulated productivity of dry matter and raw protein as well as a higher number of the grass cuttings apart from a longer use period and a fast recovery after cutting, a satisfactory soil covering and the low weed occurrences.
wastewater; pulping of coffee; surface flow; forage grasses
