Biofertilizers and saline water use in cherry <i>Licopersicon pimpinellifolium</i> L.

Abstract

An experiment was carried out in the greenhouse of the Soil and Rural Engineering Department of CCA - UFPB, located in Areia county, State of Paraiba in Brazil, during the period of October to February, 2010, in order to evaluate the effects two types of bovine biofertilizers in the growth of tomatoes cherry plants under saline water irrigation. The experimental design was completely randomized in 5 x 3 factorial scheme, with six replications, referring to values of electrical conductivity of the irrigation water: 0.5; 1.0; 2.0; 3.0 and 4.0 dS m^-1, in the soil without biofertilizer, with ordinary biofertilizer and enriched with milk, molasses and mineral gypsum. The biofertilizers after dissolving in non-saline water (0.5 dS m^-1) in a ratio of 1:1 were applied only one time, two days before sowing, in volume equivalent to 10% of the substrate volume. The addition of biofertilizers increased the contents of salts in the soil with higher intensity compared to treatments receiving only saline water but they exercised efficiently in attenuating the deleterious effects of salts to the plants, providing more growth and protein production in comparison to plants without biofertilizers.