Microgeo e TMT na cultura da batata

Abstract

The potato crop (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the main vegetables in Brazil and worldwide, being the most important and widely produced in Brazil. The use of bioinputs, or biological inputs, is becoming increasingly common in agriculture. This project aimed to examine the impact of two sources of microorganisms, MICROGEO and TMT, when applied through spraying or fertigation, on the productivity and quality of the potato crop in PerdizesMG. The experiment was conducted with the Asterix variety from April to August 2023 at the Água Santa farm in Perdizes-MG. The experiment was designed as a randomized block with four replications, using a factorial scheme of 3 x 2 + 1, consisting of three isolated and combined sources of microorganisms (MICROGEO, TMT, and MICROGEO+TMT), two application methods (spraying and fertigation), and a control group. Applications were performed in the planting furrow, during hilling, and 20 days after planting (DAP). Each experimental plot contained four rows of 6 m in length, with 0.8 m spacing between plants and 31 cm between rows. Nematological analyses were conducted at the beginning of the experiment, at 65 DAP, and at harvest (111 DAP), where the number of stems per plant was recorded, and the harvested tubers were classified by size. The percentage and severity of tubers with disease symptoms and the soluble solids content were also evaluated. According to the results, it was concluded that the most effective application method for the products is via fertigation. During the study, there was an increase in the population of Helicotylenchus dihystera in the soil across all treatments, including the control, which was not ideal for the study. For other nematodes, the detected populations were generally low. Commercial productivity was positively affected by the use of microorganisms, particularly MICROGEO and the mixture of MICROGEO with TMT. No effect on the soluble solids of the tubers was observed.