PHYSIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF EMERALD GRASS IN DIFFERENT CLIMATE SEASONS, TREATED WITH SEWAGE SLUDGE COMPOUND AND BIOSTIMULANTS.

• Grant number: 23/03707-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2023
• Effective date (End): June 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Broetto
• Grantee: Giovanna Luiza de Lima
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Plants are sessile organisms and are therefore subject to different types of environmental pressure, in the form of physical and/or biological stress. Brazil, as a tropical country, has well-marked climatic seasons and, in many cases, with a strong impact on the development of crops due to the heat and less distribution of water resources. The emerald grass, object of this Project, is a genotype dependent on the availability of water, which is a preponderant factor for its development. Based on the economic importance of grass culture and in order to mitigate the effects of periods of drought, this essay intends to establish a correlation between mineral nutrition and the application of biostimulants to facilitate plant development, even in periods of low water availability. To meet the nutritional demands, the plants will be cultivated by incorporating sewage sludge and applying a biostimulant in the form of seaweed extract (Ascophyllum nodosum). The hypothesis to be explored suggests that a well-nourished plant supplemented with the biostimulant will better withstand the dry periods, thus maintaining the best growth rates. In addition to the parameters of growth and quality of the grass, other physiological and biochemical factors will be determined, indicators of tolerance to water deficiency.