Vermicomposting effect on the biological and agricultural productivity of cabbage crop

Vermicomposting use and products obtained from it in agriculture has led to new scientific research in recent years, resulting in knowledge about the contribution of nutrients to plants, as well as crop production with quality and tolerant to abiotic stress. The cabbage KK-Cross variety is one of the most used in Cuba, the use of mineral fertilizers and chemical pesticides has been progressively increasing in this crop, and therefore, the reduction of chemical products is a necessity for the cabbage production with the least amount of toxic residues. The aim of the present work was to evaluate vermicomposting extract dilution effect on the biological and agricultural productivity of cabbage crop. For this purpose, three dilutions of the product-1/20, 1/40 and 1/60 v/v-were studied under laboratory (seed imbibition) and field (foliar spraying) conditions, compared with a control treatment, under a completely randomized design. The effect on seed germination was evaluated, as well as on crop growth, development and yield. With the 1/40 v/v dilution, a greater stimulus in the seed germination process and plant growth was obtained, the polar and equatorial diameter of cabbage sprouts was higher and the agricultural yield was increased by 88 %. Key words: biostimulant, growth, development, yield, vegetable. La utilizacion de vermicompost y productos obtenidos del mismo en la agricultura ha derivado en nuevas investigaciones cientificas en los ultimos anos, dando como resultado el conocimiento acerca del aporte de nutrientes a las plantas, asi como la produccion de cultivos con calidad y tolerantes al estres abiotico. La variedad de col KK-Cross es una de las mas empleadas en Cuba, el uso de fertilizantes minerales y plaguicidas quimicos ha ido en aumento progresivamente en este cultivo por lo que, la disminucion de productos quimicos es una necesidad para la produccion de col con la menor cantidad de residuos toxicos. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar el efecto de diluciones de extracto de vermicompost en la productividad biologica y agricola del cultivo de la col. Para ello, se estudiaron en condiciones de laboratorio (imbibicion de semillas) y campo (aspersion foliar), tres diluciones del producto-1/20, 1/40 y 1/60 v/v, comparados con un tratamiento control, bajo un diseno completamente aleatorizado. Se evaluo el efecto en la germinacion de las semillas, asi como en el crecimiento, desarrollo y rendimiento del cultivo. Se obtuvo con la dilucion 1/4