New Substrates Based on Decomposed Babassu (Attalea speciosa Mart.) Stem in the Production of Melon Seedlings

Abstract

Melon production in recent years has shown great growth and success in cultivation which depends on a good production of seedlings, and poor quality of the substrate can cause problems in the germination process. The study aimed to evaluate changes of melon with different proportions of the substrate based on the decomposed stem of babassu. For this, different proportions of decomposed babassu stem (DBS) were used viz., S1: 100% soil; S2: 20% DBS+ 80% soil; S3: 40% DBS + 60% soil; S4: 60% DBS + 40% soil; S5: 80% DBS + 20% soil; and S6: 100% DBS, using a completely randomized design, having six treatments with four replicates. Parameters such as, emergence speed index, germination percentage (%), plant height (cm); stem diameter (mm); root length (cm); root volume (cm3), dry root mass and dry mass of shoot (g) were evaluated. Although germination did not show any difference, the rate of emergence showed statistically equal results between them and higher than the control. Based on the data obtained, the study concludes that substrates based on the decomposed stem of babassu with proportions between 40, 60 and 80% can be used for the production of melon seedlings. These predictors, however, need further work to validate reliability.