Evaluación de la vinaza como fertilizante en almácigo de hule (Hevea brasiliensis) en finca Tululá S.A. San Andres Villa Seca, Retalhuleu

ABSTRACT The Ranch Tululá is located at San Andrés Villa Seca, Retalhuleu, at coordinates 14 ° 30'16'' North latitude and 90 ° 35'03'' West longitude, at kilometer 173 departmental road leading from Cuyotenango to San José la Máquina, Suchitepéquez. The company Tululá is dedicated to the cultivation of sugarcane (Saccharum spp) and rubber (Hevea brasiliensis). Sugar cane is used to make alcohol in which the vinasse is generated as a byproduct. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the effect of vinasse as fertilizer in the rubber storage phase (Hevea brasiliensis). An experiment was carried out with a completely randomized design with bifactorial arrangement in which the following factors were evaluated: two doses of potassium based on vinasse 1.13 g of potassium (K) per plant and 2.25 g of K per plant and three intervals of application: Every 8, 12 and 16 days. As an extension of the experiment, two additional treatments were evaluated: the absolute control (without fertilizer) and the relative control (with commercial fertilizer). The variables evaluated were diameter, stem height, root biomass and foliar biomass. As a result it was obtained that the variables radicular and foliar biomass, showed interaction between the dose and frequency factors of application of potassium based on vinasse, so that multiple tests of means for the two variables were performed. It was determined that the treatment with greater foliar mass was the application of 1.13 g of K per plant every 12 days and the one of smaller leaf mass was of 2.25 g of K per plant every 16 days. For the root biomass treatment of 1.13 g K per plant every 8 days presented the lowest mass. The relative witness and absolute control produced the lowest root masses along with treatments of 2.25 g of k per plant every 12 days and 1.13 g of k per plant every 8 days. For leaf biomass only treatments of 1.13 g k per plant applied every 12 and 16 days were greater than controls (absolute and relative). After vinasse applications, only changes in pH of the substrate were observed. In the treatments where vinasse was applied the accumulated elements were potassium and magnesium, the elements that decreased were phosphorus, copper, zinc, which can be attributed to a better absorption of these elements by the rubber plants (H. brasiliensis) since the PH is located in the range 6 to 7 which is the optimum range for the absorption of the elements. The economic analysis indicates that the labor costs of treatments of 1.13 g of K per plant every 16 and every 12 days are obtained the lowest costs, which amount to Q 8,187.00 and Q 10,233.75 respectively It is concluded that the treatment of 1.13 g of k with vinaza per plant every 16 days produced the highest foliar and root mass at the lowest cos