DESENVOLVIMENTO DE Agave sisalana Perrine SOB DIFERENTES MANEJOS DE ADUBÇÃO E CONSÓRCIO

Abstract

The Sisal plant (Agave sisalana Perrine) is native of Mexico and is currently cultivated in an extensive area of the Semi-arid region of Northeast Brazil, mainly in the State of Bahia. The sisal produces a hard and coarse fiber, which supplies 70% of the world market, from its fiber is manufactured twines. This study aimed identify the best way of managing the fertilization in the Sisal crop (Agave sisalana Perrine), studying the effect of chemical fertilization, with the use of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in comparison to organic fertilization using bovine manure, under different management forms in a consortium with common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), in the city of Areia-Paraíba, Brazil. The experiment was carried out at the Chã-de-Jardim Experimental Farm, belonging to the Centro de Ciências Agrárias of the Universidade Federal da Paraíba, located in the city of Areia. The treatments used were: T1 (Sisal intercroppedwith beans with organic fertilization), T2 (Sisal intercropped with beans and chemical fertilization), T3 (Sisal intercropped with beans with any type of fertilization), T4 (Sisal with organic fertilization), T5 (Sisal with chemical fertilization), T6 (Control), evaluated from 15 to 193 days. The evaluated variables were growth rate of plant height, number of new leaves, growth rate of leaf height, growth rate of leaf width, leaf growth rate of thickness. In the growth rate of the plant, the chemical fertilization system and intercropped without fertilization presented better results; For the number of new leaves, the intercropped system and under organic fertilization stood out from the others; Higher leaf growth was observed when the intercropped systems were used, with organic fertilization or without fertilization, and single only when chemical fertilization was applied; the intercropped systems promoted a greater gain in leaf width than the single crop system; the organic fertilization system promoted a greater gain in leaf thickness in both, the intercropped and single systems. The intercropping association with organic fertilization provided superior performance in the development of the sisal plants.