USE OF BANANA TREE PSEUDOSTEM ENRICHED WITH NITROGEN AND PHOSPHOROUS AS SUBSTRATE FOR CULTIVATION OF FERNS

Abstract

The prohibition of the use of xaxim fiber as substrate, because its raw material source (Dicksonia sellowiana) was listed as an endangered species, lead to the need of looking for other kinds of substrate. Banana tree cultivation produces a large amount of pseudostem residues, which, due to their physical-chemical characteristics, can be an alternative in substrates composition for ornamental plants, in substitution for xaxim fiber, mainly when associated with fertilizers. This research aimed to evaluate biomass production, nutritional stage, and nutrients availability for ferns, testing substrates in xaxim fiber (XF) and banana tree pseudostem (BP), and fertilizations with N and P. The substrate proportions were sand:soil:XF and sand:soil:BP, in a relation of 1:1:2 in volume. Dosages tested were 0 mg dm-3; 68.5 mg dm-3; 137.0 mg dm-3; 205.5 mg dm-3; and 374.0 mg dm-3 of N and 0 mg dm-3; 97.7 mg dm-3; 195.4 mg dm-3; 291.9 mg dm-3; and 390.8 mg dm-3 of P2O5. The number of leaves produced by the fern did not differ significantly in response to substrates or N and P dosages. The same result was verified in most of the substrate and plant mineral evaluations. It was concluded that banana tree pseudostem could perfectly replace xaxim fiber as substrate component for ferns.

KEY-WORDS: Polypodium persicifolium var. mettenii Desv.; foliar analysis; mineral nutrients; Dicksonia sellowiana; alternative substrates.