Natural products use for protection of seedling in planting trees

Abstract

Conventional productive systems have depleted environmental resources and weakened unsustainable agroecosystems. Silvopastoral systems can be a viable alternative for the recovery of degraded areas. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate natural products used to protect seedlings in planting trees in pastures which the cattle is permanently grazing and the seedlings have no mechanical restraint to keep the cattle away. The experiment was conducted at “Embrapa Gado de Corte”, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil, from February 2nd 2005 to March 28th 2005. The statistical design employed was the split-plot random design, with ten replications. The following treatments were given to the plots: 1) cattle manure around the tree seedlings; 2) dried bovine blood; 3) crushed egg shells; and 4) no protection (control). The subplots contained five tree species: Myroxylon peruiferum (Bálsamo), Dipteryx alata (Cumbaru), Schizolobium parahyba (Guapuruvu), Genipa americana (Jenipapo) and Mimosa caesalpineaefolia (Sansão do campo). Herbivory was intense for all treatments. The survival rate of S. parahyba was 72.5%, and 100% of M. caesalpineafolia died. Cattle manure produced the best results, with partial protection of tree seedlings. Application of egg or blood did not offer any protection to the young trees. The concentration and frequency of application of manure for seedling protection deserves further attention.