Fungos micorrízios arbusculares no desenvolvimento do meloeiro, cultivado em substrato de pó de coco, solo e vermicomposto.

Abstract

Melon culture has a great economic importance in the State of Ceará, Brazil, especially in fruit exportation to others countries. But to maintain that high productivity, healthy seedlings growing in suitable substrates that sustain plants in the field after transplanting are necessary. The use of dry or green coconut dust as a substrate composition associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation is a recommended procedure, as coconut dust is a low cost natural biodegradable substrate. Arbuscular mycorrhizal soil inoculation makes seedlings more resistant to transplanting and increase nutrients absorption capacity, especially phosphorus. The objective of this dissertation was to evaluate different substrates concentrations (dry and green coconut dust and soil) on melon arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization (Experiment 1) and the effect of organic matter fertilization on AMF inoculated plants growing in a sterile and non-sterile soil, under greenhouse conditions. A randomized statistical design was adopted, with ten and eight treatments, respectively to Experiments 1 and 2, and four replications. Thirty days after germination or transplanting, plants were harvested and analyzed for their growth and microbiological variables and shoot nutrients content. Substrates compositions with 30% of dry or green coconut dust and inoculated with AMF increased melon growth as compared with higher concentrations. Sterilized or non-sterilized soil condition does not influenced plants development under organic fertilization. Addition of organic compost increased phosphorus uptake by plants grown on non-sterile soil, indicating a high competition capacity of pre-inoculated plants transplanted to non-sterile soil.