Effects of different substrates in production of Sebastiania commersoniana seedling

The aim of this research was to evaluate technical feasibility of using different substrates for production of seedlings of Sebastiania commersoniana and relate physical and chemical characteristics to the quality of the produced seedlings. In order to that, 22 substrates were formulated, with their physical and chemical properties evaluated, sowed in tubes of 120 cc, and put in shade, under controlled irrigation. For the results analysis, it evaluated height, stem diameter, air and radicial biomass, ease of removability, root aggregation to the substrate, Dickson quality index, and relation of height and diameter at 180 days. According to the obtained results, the best substrate tested was the commercial pine bark based substrate. The renewable components, carbonized rice hulls, coconut fiber, and commercial pine bark based substrate presented technical feasibility to produce Sebastiania commersoniana seedlings, on the other hand pure carbonized rice hulls and fine vermiculite did not. Towards the properties of the substrates, only bulk density, pH, Ca, and P correlated with biometric variables of the seedlings.