Gourd of manufacturing and amethyst stone: alternative substrate for the production of seedlings

The manufacture of the gourd and derivative handicrafts as well as amethyst stone extraction have high economic and social importance for the state of Rio Grande do Sul. However, the work of artisans and mining activities result in large amounts of waste that do not have proper disposal, causing damage environmentally. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the potential use of residues from the manufacture of “cuia”(RFC) and amethyst stone extraction (REP) as a substrate alternative for the production of lettuce and tomato seedlings in the period April-May 2014 in Frederico Westphalen, RS. We used a completely randomized design with five treatments and five repetitions for each of the experiments. The experiments were: T1 - 100% commercial substrate (SC), T2 - 25% residue (RFC or REP) + 75% SC, T3 -50% residue + 50% SC, T4 - 75% residue + 25% SC and T5 - 100% waste; being evaluated the emergence speed index and percentage of germination. From the results, it was observed that the use of RFC or REP in a proportion of 25% as a commercial substrate component does not affect seed germination of lettuce and tomato. Therefore, it is recommended the addition of waste from the manufacture of gourd and amethyst stone extraction to the substrate to reduce short production of seedlings and environmental impact.