Does Anomalocardia flexuosa shell powder enhance the emergence and initial development of Crotalaria juncea seedlings?

Abstract

Although the use of alternative substrates in seedling production is still underexplored, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of incorporating Anomalocardia flexuosa shell powder into substrate mixtures, with different particle sizes, basic components, and concentrations, on the emergence and initial biomass production of Crotalaria juncea seedlings.The experiment was conducted in a nursery, testing three basic constituents of substrates (soil, vermiculite and organic compost), three particle sizes (3 mm; 2 mm and 250 μm) of shell powder, added in five concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80%) for each experimental condition. The design was in a factorial scheme in randomized blocks, with three particle sizes, three base constituents and five concentrations, with four replications per treatment, in which the experimental plot was composed of twenty-five seedlings. The variables evaluated were: seedling emergence; emergency speed index; plant height; number of leaves; neck diameter; and accumulation of fresh and dry mass of roots and aerial parts of these seedlings; H/DC ratio (Aerial part height/cullet diameter); MSPA/MSR ratio (Dry mass of the shoot/dry mass of the root system) and H/MSPA ratio (Height of the shoot/dry mass of the shoot). The granulometry of the shell powder and the basic constituents of the substrate used did not show significant interference in the evaluated parameters. Concentrations independent of granulometry enhanced the emergence of C. Juncea.