Evaluación del residuo de cáscara de nuez (<i>Juglans regia</i> L.) en la producción de plántulas de <i>Pinus patula</i>, en vivero

Abstract

Evaluation of residue of rind of nut(Juglans regia L.) in production of seedlings ofPinus patula, in pond. To produce quality plantsin the nursery, commercial substrates such asthe Peat Moss, perlite and vermiculite, are used;their cost is high and significantly reduces profitmargins; thus, there is a need to find alternativesubstrates. The shell of the walnut (Juglans regiaL.) is a residue without use in production; yetit has important nutrients that can be used byplant organisms. This study evaluated the initialgrowth of Pinus patula produced in the nursery,using compost of walnut shell with vermiculiteand perlite, gradually replacing the Peat Moss.A completely randomized design was used tocompare 4 treatments based on nutshell + perliteand vermiculite, in proportions ranging from 0%to 80% walnut shell, and the mix of commercialsubstrates. At 7 and a half months of age, theseedlings that developed in treatment 1, controlmixture (Peat Moss 33% + vermiculite 33% +perlite 33%) and treatment 4 (Nutshell 33% +vermiculite 33% + perlite 33%) showed highervalues in the variables: height, diameter, shoot dry weight, root dry weight and total dry weight.The relation shoot/root and the slenderness ratiodid not differ among the 4 treatments. The highestvalue of the Dickson quality index was for thecontrol (0.25 g.cm-1), followed by treatment 4(0.24 g.cm-1), without statistical differences. Thewalnut shell allows to produce healthy seedlings,making it useful as an alternative substrate forproduction in nursery plants, reducing productioncosts and contributing to the forest production sector.