Avaliação on farm do uso de húmus de minhoca no cultivo orgânico de morangueiro

Abstract

The strawberry production under organic cropping systems requires management strategies that enable the productivity and sanity fruits. Vermicompost is one of the strategies used by farmers to fertilize the beds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the farmer practice concerning vermicompost use in strawberry organic production on the fruit productivity, the colony forming units (CFU) of fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes in the soil and on Mycosphaerella fragariae incidence and severity. The study took a place in region of Pelotas, RS, using cv. Camino Real. The assessed treatments was different levels of vermicompost used at the transplante, being the farmer's usual application (0,135kg per planting hole), twice the usual application (0,270kg per planting hole) and the non-use of vermicompost. The farmer’s usual practice released 33 times less N to the crop than indicated by the official recommendation, but the yield was similar to the Rio Grande do Sul state average. The treatments didn't differ for the CFU of bacteria and actinomycetes measured at the end of cycle cultive, but the fungus CFU in the treatment with twice vermicompost amount was higher than the others. The Mycosphaerella fragariae severity tended to be lower in vermicompost treatments and the disease incidence was higher in plants without vermicompost.