Abstract

Among the fruit plants cultivated in Brazil, papaya (Carica papaya L.) stands out by having high productivity of fruit quality. The seedling production system of this culture needs a technology that promotes the production of plants with high physiological and sanitary quality. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the growth, dry matter accumulation and the efficiency of water use of papaya cultivars under doses of bovine biofertilizer in hydroponic culture. We used a completely randomized design with eight treatments in a factorial scheme 4 x 2, with six replications, and a useful plant per repetition totalizing 48 useful plants. Four doses of biofertilizers (D = 10, 20, 30 and 40% v/v) were tested and applied in two varieties of papaya (Sunrise Solo (C1) and Tainung-01 (C2)). During the first 60 days after sowing, the papaya cultivars were evaluated for growth, dry matter accumulation and water use efficiency in accordance to their doses of biofertilizers. The cultivar Tainung-01 has a higher potential for growth, biomass accumulation and efficient use of water in comparison with the Sunrise Solo cultivar. The doses estimated of 25 and 35% (v/v) of bovine biofertilizer promoted the greater growth and dry matter accumulation for the cultivars Sunrise Solo and Tainung-01, respectively.

Key words: Carica papaya L., organic fertilization, hydroponics, seedling production.