Yield and postharvest quality of 'common' arrowroot plants subjected to biofertilization

Arrowroot (Maranta Arundinaceae L.) is an unconventional vegetable crop with great economic potential but little knowledge regarding its mineral nutrition. This study aimed at assessing yield and postharvest of 'common' arrowroot subjected to different sources and doses of organic fertilizers. The split-plot experiment was laid out in four blocks of two main plots, each split into five sub-plots. The fertilizer sources (bovine and ovine manure) were applied to the main plots, whereas five doses of each liquid fertilizer (0; 300; 600; 900 and 1,200 mL plant-1 week-1) were applied to the sub-plots. Number of rhizomes (NR), fresh mass of rhizomes (FMR), dry mass of rhizomes (DMR), average rhizome weight (ARW), rhizome yield (RY), rhizome length (RL), and rhizome diameter (RD) were measured. Better results for RY, FMR, and RL of 'common' arrowroot plants were observed for the bovine compared to the ovine biofertilizer. Fertilizer doses varying from 737 to 1,200 mL plant-1 week-1 are recommended to maximize yield and postharvest quality of 'common' arrowroot. RY of 212.51 t ha-1 and 207.1 t h-1 were achieved when 1,200 mL plant-1 week-1 of bovine and ovine manure were applied to pot-grown arrowroot plants, respectively.