Productive performance and quality of arugula (Eruca sativa) under different doses of cassava wastewater containing potassium source

Abstract

Cassava wastewater has high organic load and concentration of nutrients and can cause damage to the environment when discarded indiscriminately. However, the residue can help agricultural production. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the appropriate doses of cassava wastewater to enable the highest production and quality of arugula. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, in a completely randomized design, consisting of eight treatments composed of the following doses: D1 = 0, D2 = 6.5, D3 = 13, D4 = 19.5, D5 = 26, D6 = 32.5, D7 = 39 and D8 = 45.5 m3 ha-1 of cassava wastewater with four replicates each. We used the arugula cultivar “Cultivada”, and samples of plant height, fresh matter, and shoot dry matter were performed at 15 and 30 days after emergence. The quality of arugula was evaluated through pH, total soluble solids and titratable total acidity. Cassava wastewater had a significant effect on plant height, fresh matter and dry matter of above ground part, pH and total soluble solids of arugula. However, titratable total acidity was not affected by treatments. Our results show that cassava wastewater is a good alternative fertilizer for arugula cultivation but at proper doses up to 26 m3 ha-1 applied through the crop cycle to avoid the deleterious effect of some nutrients in excess, such as potassium.