Growth of seedlings and young plants of coffee in composts of textile industry residues

Abstract

The final destination of solid industrial waste is one of the main environmental problems currently facing, due to its potential for contamination. With the evolution of environmental policy and awareness, the proper destination of these wastes is stimulated, seeking new technologies to fulfil the demand for the products generated. One of the solutions to this environmental problem is to use these residues as fertilizers in agriculture. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of toxic textile residues as a substrate component of coffee seedlings and as fertilizer in the initial growth of coffee plants. The study was divided into three experiments: production of seedlings, initial growth of potted plants and in the field. In the production of seedlings, the treatments consisted of different proportions of organic compost residues from the textile industry: 0, 4, 8, 16 and 32% and a conventional treatment of seedling production. In pots and in the field, the same treatments were used with organic compound, and a conventional planting treatment. In the three experiments, plant growth and nutritional analyses were performed. The conventional treatment provided better development of the seedlings and the potted and field coffee plants for most of the evaluated parameters. The treatments between 8 and 16% of organic compost showed an acceptable development of coffee plants, demonstrating their potential as fertilizer.