Arranjos produtivos agroecológicos com araruta para a conservação da agrobiodiversidade no sul da Bahia

Abstract

Maranta arundinacea L., popularly known as arrowroot, is a Brazilian agrobiodiversity plant. In the south of Bahia, M. arundinacea L. was widely cultivated by indigenous people of the Pataxó ethnic group. The objective of this work was to evaluate the vegetative performance and production of rhizomes of M. arundinacea L. variety ‘Comum’ in different intercrops with green manure, in an agroecological system, in the edaphoclimatic conditions of Costa do Descobrimento, Bahia, Brazil. The experimental design used was randomized blocks, with four replications and six treatments, M. arundinacea L. and M. arundinacea L. in consortium with the following plant species as green manure: Cajanus cajan, Canavalia ensiformes, Crotalaria spectabilis, Vigna unguiculata and the mix of the four species. To evaluate the vegetative performance of M. arundinacea L., monthly data were collected from 60 to 240 days after planting (DAP), on the characteristics number of leaves, number of tillers and plant height. For productivity analysis, data were obtained after harvest, which took place at 270 DAP and the number of rhizomes per plant, length, diameter and mass of the rhizomes were evaluated. Samples of rhizomes from each plot were separated and taken to the laboratory to extract the starch and carry out physical-chemical analyzes to verify the starch yield and the acidity, moisture and ash levels. The variables evaluated were subjected to analysis of variance and, when there was significance using the F test, the means of the variables were compared using the Tukey test at 5% probability using the RBIO statistical software. The number of tillers of M. arundinacea L. variety ‘Comum’ varied depending on the legume treatments. The number of leaves and height did not vary depending on the proposed treatments, these two variables were only influenced by the time factor. The production components and rhizome productivity of M. arundinacea L. showed similarities for all treatments, demonstrating that intercrops with legumes do not negatively affect rhizome production. The presence of legumes did not influence the yield, moisture and ash percentage of M. arundinacea L. ‘Comum’ starch. Only the acidity of the starch varied depending on the treatments with green manure plants.