Exploring the Impact of Humic Biostimulants on Cassava Yield and Nutrition in Northeast Brazil

Maisa da Conceição Santos, Mônica Tejo Cavalcanti, Larissa Nicácio Pessoa, Zenaide Gomes da Silva, Allisson Miguel da Silva, Tancredo Souza, Juliane Maciel Henschel (), Emmanuel Moreira Pereira, Manoel Alexandre Diniz Neto and Belísia Lúcia Moreira Toscano Diniz ()
Additional contact information
Maisa da Conceição Santos: Graduate Program in Agricultural Sciences (Agroecology), Federal University of Paraíba, Bananeiras 58220-000, Paraíba, Brazil
Mônica Tejo Cavalcanti: National Institute of the Semiarid, Av. Francisco Lopes de Almeida, s/n, Serrotão, Campina Grande 58434-700, Paraíba, Brazil
Larissa Nicácio Pessoa: Department of Agriculture, Federal University of Paraíba, Campus Universitário III, s/n, Bananeiras 58220-000, Paraíba, Brazil
Zenaide Gomes da Silva: Department of Agriculture, Federal University of Paraíba, Campus Universitário III, s/n, Bananeiras 58220-000, Paraíba, Brazil
Allisson Miguel da Silva: Agricultural College Vidal de Negreiros, Federal University of Paraíba, Bananeiras 58220-000, Paraíba, Brazil
Tancredo Souza: Graduate Program in Agricultural Sciences (Agroecology), Federal University of Paraíba, Bananeiras 58220-000, Paraíba, Brazil
Juliane Maciel Henschel: Graduate Program in Agronomy, Federal University of Paraíba, Areia 58397-000, Paraíba, Brazil
Emmanuel Moreira Pereira: Graduate Program in Agricultural Sciences (Agroecology), Federal University of Paraíba, Bananeiras 58220-000, Paraíba, Brazil
Manoel Alexandre Diniz Neto: Graduate Program in Agricultural Sciences (Agroecology), Federal University of Paraíba, Bananeiras 58220-000, Paraíba, Brazil
Belísia Lúcia Moreira Toscano Diniz: Graduate Program in Agricultural Sciences (Agroecology), Federal University of Paraíba, Bananeiras 58220-000, Paraíba, Brazil

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-11

Abstract: Cassava is a staple food mainly produced with low management inputs, causing soil depletion and low yields. The use of organic inputs, such as humic substances (HSs), represents a sustainable alternative to increase cassava growth and production, mainly in semi-arid regions such as the Brazilian Northeast. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the foliar application of a biostimulant based on humic substances on the morphophysiology, production, and mineral nutrient contents of cassava. The biofortified cultivar BRS Dourada was grown under field conditions and foliar application of a biostimulant based on humic substances (BHSs, treated plants) or water (untreated, control). The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with four repetitions. At 225 days after planting, the growth, productivity, and mineral nutrient contents of soil, roots, and leaves were determined. No differences between treated and untreated plants were found for growth and productivity (average 15.2 t ha −1 ). On the other hand, BHS treatment reduced net carbon assimilation, water use efficiency, and carboxylation efficiency by 34%, 24%, and 47%, respectively. Moreover, BHS treatment reduced nutrient uptake from soil, and Na and K contents in roots and leaves, respectively. A foliar BHS application is not recommended for cassava production in the conditions evaluated here.

Keywords: agroecological management; biofortified cassava; fulvic acid; humic acid; Manihot esculenta Crantz (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/10/4088/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/10/4088/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:10:p:4088-:d:1393827

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().