GROWTH AND INITIAL DEVELOPMENT OF COFFEE TREES FERTILIZED WITH FERMENTED BRAN COMPOUND ASSOCIATED WITH MINERAL SOURCES OF PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM IN AN AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM IN THE MOUNTAIN REGION OF FLUMINENSE
Organic agriculture. Agroecology. Shade-grown coffee. Bocashi. Process agriculture. Regenerative agriculture. Arabica coffee. Bone meal. Ash. Arara coffee.
The objective is to evaluate the development of Arabica coffee plants planted in a shaded system with three doses of fermented bran fertilizer, “bocashi” type, associated with the presence or absence of bone meal + wood ash. The fermented compound will be formulated from a mixture containing wheat bran (10%) + coffee husks (25%) + brewery malt “bagasse” (25%) and castor bean bran (40%), which will be mixed in a concrete mixer and inoculated with native microorganisms, previously captured in rice baits on site. The material will be compacted in a polyethylene water tank where it will undergo anaerobic fermentation for at least 21 days. It will be applied at planting and in 4 coverings spaced 40 days apart. A drip irrigation system will be installed to supply water during periods of drought. Composite samples will be collected in the 0-20 and 20-40 cm layers and sent to a reputable laboratory whose report will serve as a basis for calculating the fertilization of the coffee plants according to the technical recommendations. The system will be implemented at the Monte Cristo Agroflorestal Farm, Trajano de Moraes - RJ, an organic property certified by Abio. The coffee seedlings, Arara variety, will be planted at a spacing of 3.0 x 0.5 m and will be purchased from an accredited nursery in the municipality of Varre Sai - RJ. Transplanting to the beds will be done 7 days after fertilizer application, in November 2024. The experimental design will consist of six treatments distributed in a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement in a randomized block design with four replications, consisting of three levels of application of fermented bran compost (absence; level 1 – 50% of the recommendation; and level 2 – 100% of the recommendation) and two levels of application of P and K (absence and presence). Coffee growth parameters will be evaluated, such as stem diameter, plant height, number of plagiotropic branches, canopy diameter and total leaf area. The nutritional status of the plants will also be evaluated through analysis of leaf tissue.