Production of tomato seedlings Santa Cruz cv. Kadain using different substrates

Abstract

The tomato crop is considered of great socio-economic importance in the world, feeding millions of people daily. This crop is considered strategic because its production is diverse in the world, being produced by large agro-industries, moving a rich productive chain. This work aimed to evaluate the production of tomato seedlings as function of different substrates, and to comprehend the interrelation of characteristics through linear associations. The experimental design was randomized blocks, using one tomato cultivar, Santa Cruz Kada, in 32 repetitions for each treatment. The treatments consisted of several substrates such as carbonized rice husk, grape husk (S10), coconut fiber, and commercial substrate (Bioplant®). The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse using pots. The characters measured 25 days after sowing were: stem diameter, number of leaves, shoot length, root length, green mass of root, green mass of shoot, dry mass of shoot, and dry mass of root. The analysis of variance was performed and the characters that presented significance were compared by the Duncan test at 5% of probability. Subsequently, Pearson’s linear correlation was individually performed for each substrate. The results showed that commercial (Bioplant®) and grape skin substrates were the most suitable for production of tomato seedlings cv. Santa Cruz Kada. The characters of stem diameter, number of leaves, shoot length, green mass of root and green mass of shoot revealed significant correlations; however they differently behaved in the substrates.