Production of sweet pepper seedlings using alternative substrate consisting of sewage sludge and goat manure

Abstract

The production of seedlings is one of the main stages in the cultivation of vegetables, since the final development of the plants in the production beds depends on it. The use and use of different residues as a substrate has been an important alternative, capable of making this stage of production more sustainable, without the seedlings losing their quality. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the growth of sweet pepper seedlings grown in an alternative substrate, composed of domestic sewage sludge from a septic tank and goat manure. A completely randomized design was used, with ten replications and four treatments (substrates) composed of soil with goat manure or domestic sewage sludge in different proportions: Manure 2:1 (2:1 v/v, soil and goat manure); Manure 1:1 (1:1 v/v, soil and goat manure); Sludge 2:1 (2:1 v/v, soil and septic tank sludge) and Sludge 1:1 (1:1 v/v, soil and septic tank sludge). The number, width and length of leaves, plant height, stem diameter, length and dry mass of roots and total dry mass were evaluated. Analysis of variance indicated that there was a significant difference for all variables analyzed. With the exception of the root length, the average maximums of all the variables studied were obtained by growing peppers in a substrate composed of domestic sewage sludge, from a septic tank, prepared in a proportion of 1:1 v/v. Thus, whether in the proportion of one part of sludge to one or two parts of soil, the septic tank sludge treated and free of pathogenic microorganisms has potential for use in the manufacture of substrates used in the production of sweet pepper seedlings.