A Substrate Made from Açaí Berry Waste Used in the Production of Aroeira (Myracrodruon urundeuva) Seedlings

The açaí berry processing activity generates a large amount of waste that is a problem in several cities, mainly in the Amazon region of Brazil, due to the large production of açaí juice. This study aimed to reuse the waste from açaí berry’s processing as a substrate in the production of aroeira native seedlings, studying the effects of its application and evaluating the morphological parameters results. The experiment was carried out in the greenhouse in the city of Imperatriz - MA, with waste collection carried out in 2015. After collection, part of the waste was charred and transformed into the substrate through grinding and sieving. Subsequently, the substrates were mixed with the local soil in different proportions. Thus, the 9 treatments were obtained. To test the substrate the native aroeira species was used. The effects of different treatments were evaluated 15, 30, 45 and 60 days after germination, by plant height (H), neck diameter (ND) and leaf number (NL). The results showed that the use of this residue is not promising as a substrate because they do not have good performances for the parameters evaluated in the seedlings.