Utilização de efluente doméstico tratado no cultivo de manjericão em sistemas hidropônicos

Abstract

The increasing scarcity of water in both quantity and quality has led to reuse of water for agricultural production. Among the reuse, treated domestic effluents can be a viable alternative, considering the environmental impact when these effluents are released directly into the water bodies. The objective of this work was to evaluate the use of wastewater from treated domestic effluents for the production of two basil cultivars (‘Grecco a Palla’ and ‘Alfavaca Basilicão’), in hydroponic farming systems (NFT and DFT), under different spacings between plants (20, 30 and 40 cm). The hydroponic cultivation of the same cultivars in two types of water (local water and wastewater) was evaluated in a hydroponic DFT system under different recirculation frequencies of the nutrient solution (2, 4 and 6 h), both experiments were conducted in a greenhouse located in the experimental area of the Postgraduate Program in Agricultural Engineering (PPGEA), Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia (UFRB), located in Cruz das Almas-BA, under a completely randomized block design in 2x2x3 factorial scheme, with four replications, totalizing 48 experimental plots, each with 12 plants. Variables related to growth, fresh / dry mass production, water consumption, water use efficiency, water content, content, yield and chemical composition of the essential oil were measured. Hydroponic farming systems did not significantly influence growth and production variables. Increasing planting density in basil is a good technique for promoting productivity. The cultivation of basil is viable with the use of wastewater. Nutrient solution recirculation intervals longer than 2 h reduce basil production. The sources of variations studied did not show significant effects on the content and yield of the essential oil, except for the frequency of recirculation of the nutrient solution that had a significant effect on yield. The constituent linalol, stood out as the major constituent of essential oil. Key words: reuse, medicinal plant, hydroponics.