USO DE COBERTURA MORTA E ÁGUA SALINA NA PRODUTIVIDADE DA CULTURA DO MILHO

Abstract

Soil and water salinity is one of the main objectives of the crop production system around the world. In this sense, the use of vegetable mulch can attenuate salt stress. The objective of this work was to evaluate the productivity of corn crop irrigated with high and low salinity water in soil with and without mulch. A field research, at the Experimental Farm of UNILAB, Redenção-CE. The experimental design was in a randomized block, in a 6 × 2 factorial scheme, referring to six strategies of use of vegetal mulch: EC1 = no mulch throughout the cycle - control; EC2 = mulched throughout the cycle; EC3 = with mulch up to 45 days after sowing (DAS) and without mulch until the end of the cycle; EC4 = without mulching up to 45 DAS and with mulching until the end of the cycle; EC5 = with mulch up to 60 DAS and without mulch until the end of the cycle and EC6 = without mulch up to 60 and with mulch until the end of the cycle and two electrical conductivity of the irrigation water (A1 = 0.8 dS m^-1 and A2 = 3.0 dS m^-1) in five repetitions. The following variables were analyzed: ear mass with and without straw and yield. The use of the EC3 strategy allowed an increase in the ear mass with and without straw and 1000 grains. The salinity of the irrigation water was attenuated by the EC3 strategy for the ear mass with and without straw. The EC3 and EC5 strategies generate greater productivity with low salinity water and with high salinity water when using an EC3 strategy.