Desempenho agroenergético, uso de água e de nutrientes por cana-de-açúcar cultivada na Chapada do Araripe

Abstract

The Araripe Gypsum District is among the major consumers of firewood and coal of Pernambuco State Semiarid. This demand by energy has been partially contemplated to species extracted from the Caatinga biome. The use of biomass from sugarcane for energy purposes can be an alternative for sustainable development in the region. However, plant production in semi-arid depends on several factors, as the water supply, resistance of plants to water stress and the chemical management of soils, dystrophic often in the Chapada do Araripe soils. The gypsum produced in the region is a low-cost alternative to chemical soil management aiming to increase the access of water and nutrients to crops. Thus, objective of the research was to study the production of biomass for energy purposes by varieties of sugar cane grown in the Chapada do Araripe, and the impact of the application of gypsum in soils in the agronergetic potential of sugarcane in semi-arid environment. In this context, were tested three varieties of sugarcane: : RB867515, RB92579 e RB962962; cultivated in Chapada do Araripe distrophic soil, in the presence and absence of gypsum, in factorial arrangement (3x2) distributed in randomized blocks with four replications. The experiment was conducted during the period from 2010 to 2012, two consecutive cycles of of sugar cane growth, in Research Unit of Instituto Agronômico de Pernambuco, in Araripina city, Brazil. For this purpose, were made the determinations of the production of biomass and energy characteristics, such as fibre content, lignin and Higher heating value. Additionally, were determined the efficiency of water use by the varieties of sugarcane, and the extraction and nutrient use efficiency of varieties in the two growing cycles. The data were subjected to analysis of variance being the significant effects compared by Tukey mean test (p<0,05). The application of gypsum did not affect the agroenergetic performance of varieties cultivated in the semiarid. The varieties responded specifically and differently to water stress, declining, on average, the productivity by 38%, keeping the calorific value within the recommended range for bioenergetic material, around 17 MJ kg-1. The better relationship between productivity and calorific value was obtained by the variety RB962962. The application of gypsum provided, in the sugarcane, greater concentration and extraction of sulfur by varieties, as well as higher nitrogen extraction by the second cycle.