Vegetative development and biomass production of Sesbania herbacea in a wet floodplain environment

Abstract

Green manure provides countless benefits to the chemical, physical and biological quality of soils. This study aimed to evaluate the Sesbania herbacea potential, regarding growth and biomass production parameters, as a green manure option in wet floodplain environments. A completely randomized experimental design was used, with measurements repeated over time and six replications. The parameters were evaluated every 20 days (20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 days after emergence - DAE), namely: mean plant height, root and shoot fresh and dry matter biomass, and total plant matter biomass. The legume showed a good development in soil under waterlogged condition, which led to high amounts of phytomass accumulation (approximately 139 t ha-1 of total plant matter biomass and mean height of 4 m at 120 DAE).