Coconut fiber and enriched hydrogel as promising alternatives for the production of Passiflora edulis Sims seedlings

Successful production of yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims) begins with obtaining high-quality seedlings. This study evaluated the quality of P. edulis seedlings using coconut fiber, vermiculite and hydrogel enriched with different concentrations (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 g L-1) of foliar fertilizer as substrates. As a control treatment, seedlings were produced in the absence of foliar fertilizer. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse with a completely randomized design, distributed in four replicates of four plants, to evaluate 18 formulations based on soil and coarse charcoal with the addition of vermiculite, hydrogel or coconut fiber enriched with five doses of foliar fertilizer. At 70 days after the start of the research, growth, dry mass accumulation, chlorophyll content and substrate pH were evaluated. The data were subjected to analysis of variance, regression and multivariate analysis. The seedlings produced in the substrate with coconut fiber and enriched hydrogel showed greater vigor compared to vermiculite, with increases of 37% in height, 29% in leaf area, 31% in root volume and 30% in shoot dry mass. The use of coconut fiber with 10 and 20 g of foliar fertilizer formed seedlings with greater vigor. In the multivariate analysis, the seedlings produced with coconut fiber and enriched with hydrogel in the composition stood out. Therefore, we recommend using a substrate formulated with soil (40%), coarse charcoal (40%) plus coconut fiber enriched with 10 or 20 g of foliar fertilizer, or hydrogel enriched with 20 to 50 g of foliar fertilizer.