Francisca Gleiciane Nascimento Lopes

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the application of different doses of hydrogel and irrigation levels on the morphophysiological and productive behavior of a bell pepper cultivar, in a protected environment. Four doses of hydrogel (0.0, 0.6, 1.2, and, 2.4 g per plant) and four irrigation levels (50, 75, 100, and, 125%) were used, on the basis of the daily evapotranspiration of a bell pepper crop grown in a sandy soil. Height, stem diameter, and leaf area were measured at 70 and 100 days. At the end of the experiment, bell pepper yield and water use efficiency were estimated. Hydrogel associated with irrigation increases leaf area, productivity, and irrigation-water use efficiency. The applied water deficit (132.8 and 199.26 mm), associated with the hydrogel doses, does not affect the plants morphologically.

Corn (Zea mays) is one of the most important crops in the world due to its productivity, chemical composition and nutritional value, constituting one of the most important cereals cultivated and consumed in the world, whether in human or animal nutrition, playing a relevant socioeconomic role. The organic waste arising from both the preparation of meals and the leftovers on the plates plays an important role in the composition of urban solid waste and needs to be better disposed of. In view of the above, the objective of this work was to evaluate the initial growth of corn as a function of different doses of biocompost produced with organic residues from the Academic Restaurant of IFCE - campus Sobral. The variety of corn used was ‘BR 5011 Sertanejo’. The work was developed at the Agricultural Screen at IFCE - campus Sobral, from January to March 2018. The variables analyzed were: a - plant height (HP); b - number of sheets (NS); c - root length (RL); d - shoot dry matter (SDM); and e - root dry weight (RDW). Data were submitted to the F test for analysis of variance and means were submitted to regression analysis, using the SISVAR® software version 5.6. Given the above, the results showed that all dosages of biocompost used had significant linear effects on the initial growth of corn. Therefore, for this type of waste used, it is viable and has good potential for use as a substrate for the production of seedlings.