Use of cassava wastewater in Capsicum chinense production

ABSTRACT The use of resources derived from the agricultural property itself to meet the needs of producers promotes the reduction of costs with commercial inputs and recycling of by-products, among them the liquid waste from the cassava flour production, called cassava wastewater, which can be an important fertilization source. This study aimed to evaluate the growth and production of Capsicum chinense Jacq., as a function of cassava wastewater doses associated with mineral fertilizer proportions. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, in a completely randomized design, with treatments distributed in a 3 x 5 factorial scheme, corresponding to 3 doses (0, 50 and 100 %) of the mineral fertilization recommended for the crop and 5 doses (0, 25, 50, 100 and 150 m³ ha-1) of cassava wastewater, with 4 replicates. The cassava wastewater doses influenced the crop yield, showing a linear trend. The dose of 150 m3 ha-1 promoted a yield equivalent to that obtained with the application of 100 % of the mineral fertilization recommended for this crop, thus enabling the partial or total replacement of this fertilization by cassava wastewater.