Fertigation and growth regulator on coffee seedling production in tubes

The use of quality seedlings is important in establishing a productive coffee crop. However, the most widely used method to produce coffee seedlings is time consuming (6-12 months) and lacks new production technologies. This study aimed to assess the use of fertigation and a growth regulator in the production of coffee seedlings, in order to develop a system faster than the conventional method. For that, Topázio coffee cultivar seeds were pre-germinated and planted in tubes filled with substrate (composted pine bark), in a protected nursery. A randomized block design was used, in a 4 x 2 (fertigation levels x the use or not of growth regulator) factorial scheme, with four replications. Daily fertigation positively influenced all the growth variables evaluated. The foliar spraying of the growth regulator had little effect on seedling growth. When compared to the conventional system described in the literature, the coffee seedling production system described here reduced, by around 60 days, the production time and enables a large-scale production.