Edaphic respiration in bell pepper cultivation under biological fertilizers, doses and application times

Biological fertilizers promote several benefits to the soil, and one of the ways to evaluate their quality is to determine the edaphic respiration. The present study aimed to evaluate edaphic respiration in bell pepper cultivation under doses and times of application of biological fertilizers. Two experiments were performed with applications of biological fertilizers prepared from manure and enriched organic compost, one using bovine manure (BM) and the other, sheep manure (SM). The experimental design used was in randomized blocks, in a 4 x 3 + 1 factorial scheme, with three replications, referring to the doses of biological fertilizers (100, 200, 300 and 400 dm³ ha-1), application times (0, 30 and 60 days after transplanting – DAT) and the absolute control. The following variables were evaluated during the night and day: soil surface temperature (Tsurf) and 10 cm deep (T10), soil moisture (M) and edaphic respiration (ER). SM provided the highest ER in the two shifts evaluated. The use of 400 and 300 dm³ ha-1 of SM, at times of 0 and 30 DAT, respectively, provided greater edaphic respiration in relation to the absence of manure during the day.