Banca de DEFESA: LAIS GONZAGA DA SILVA

USE OF DAIRY WASTE AND SEED PELLETIZATION WITH ROCK DUST IN THE CULTIVATION OF COWPI BEANS (Vigna unguiculata)

Alternative fertilizer, low cost, rock dust, alternative agriculture, string beans.

Cowpea is considered a staple food for low-income populations in the Brazilian Northeast, and can also be used as green fodder, hay, silage and flour for animal feed. Rock powders are considered an option for seed pellet treatment and, as they are a mineral component, they have slow solubility in the field and vital nutrients for soil health. In non-conventional production systems, its use brings long-term benefits, for soils that easily leach nutrients, such as degraded tropical soils or those in the process of degradation. Seed pelleting treatment can significantly contribute to the mechanical or manual handling of seeds, increasing seed shape and weight, reducing seed expenditure and thinning practice, facilitating the incorporation of growth-regulating nutrients and inoculants, favoring the formation of the microclimate around the seeds and protecting the seeds from possible pests and pathogenic organisms. Dairy residue is a material that comes from the dairy industry and can contain large amounts of phosphorus and potassium. They are rich in organic matter and also contain other plant nutrients such as nitrogen and sulfur. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the productivity of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) cultivar Miranda IPA 207 subjected to fertilization with doses of dairy residue in the presence and absence of rock dust via the seed. The use of rock dust did not contribute to better productive performance of the bean plant, the doses of dairy residue did not influence the cultivation of the bean plant, with the exception of biomass production, where the dose of 15 t ha-1 provided greater plant biomass. The association of dairy residue and rock dust via pelletization can be used in the production of cowpea to replace mineral fertilizer.