Biostimulants: An innovation in agriculture for the cultivation of coffee (Coffea arabica L)

Abstract

<div><p>The research was conducted in Jipijapa, in the town of Andil. The objective was to evaluate the physiological and morphological behavior of arabica coffee in the nursery stage with the application of biostimulants: starlite, humega, micorriza, and evergreen, compared to urea. A completely randomized experimental design was applied, using a factorial arrangement of repetitions in time for the morphological variables, and Tukey’s test was applied based on the statistical differences found. The results obtained at the physiological level established a significant difference (<em>p</em> < 0.05) in the variables dry matter, moisture, and nitrogen (N), with starlite and evergreen biostimulants being the best in DM and humega and evergreen in N content. There was a better response to chlorophyll (Cl) assimilation by all biostimulants, surpassing urea in general, with micorriza and starlite being the best, establishing a high positive correlation between N and chlorophyll. In terms of morphological development, Urea showed a better response, and at the biostimulant level, humega and micorriza showed better results, all between 90 and 120 days.</p></div>