Use of sewage sludge and vermiculite for producing Eucalyptus seedlings

Abstract

The success concerning forest plantations is not only dependent on the species used, but is also directly related to the kind of container, seeds quality and substrate used. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating the use of sewage sludge, together with vermiculite, in the composition of substrates used for producing Eucalyptus grandis seedlings from seeds. A completely randomized design, with six treatments and six replications of four plants, was used. The treatments consisted of the following sewage sludge and vermiculite proportions (v:v): 100:0 (T1), 80:20 (T2), 60:40 (T3), 40:60 (T4), 20:80 (T5) and a commercial substrate (T6). The collar diameter, height, ratio between shoot height and collar diameter, shoot dry matter, root dry matter, total dry matter, ratio between shoot and root dry matter, ratio between height and shoot dry matter and Dickson Quality Index were evaluated. At 90 days after germination, it was observed that the use of different proportions of sewage sludge and vermiculite influenced positively the growth of Eucalyptus seedlings, with better results for higher proportions of vermiculite. The best substrate was the one with 20% of sewage sludge and 80% of vermiculite.