Effect of nitrogen fertilization on safflower in the northeastern semi-arid region and perception of agricultural students on their use
Carthamus tinctorius L.; biofuels; organic agriculture; student perception.
An alternative to minimize the environmental damage caused by the use of fossil fuels is the substitution for the use of biofuels. Safflower is an alternative for the production of biodiesel, especially in regions such as the northeastern semi-arid region. However, in order to accomplish the planting, one of the practices carried out by the farmers is the fertilization that if performed in the wrong way, can cause numerous environmental problems. Organic fertilization is now gaining momentum, as well as promoting fertilization brings several other benefits to the soil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of nitrogen fertilization on the physiological characteristics of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), yield and yield components, and also to evaluate the perception of technical students in agriculture on the use of chemical fertilizers in the semiarid. The experimental culture was carried out on the campus of the IFRN in the municipality of Apodi-RN and is divided into subunits with three treatments and one control, and three replicates. The treatments consisted of subunits without addition of fertilizer and without correctives in the soil (T1); with addition of 100 kg/ ha of organic nitrogen fertilizer (T2) and with addition of 200 kg/ ha of organic fertilizer (T3) and a control group with standard fertilization for the species. From this, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and transpiration were analyzed during plant development, biomass weighing, seed counting and chapters by plants and seeds by chapters and analysis of the xylem area present in the stem. The results showed that the addition of the fertilizer did not significantly differentiate the physiological responses, the biomass and the yield components. Only differences in seed production and in the xylem area were observed. In addition, a questionnaire was applied to know the perception that students of the technical course in Agricultural of the IFRN-Apodi campus regarding the use of fertilizers in the semiarid. Through questionnaires, it was possible to see that the students recognize the importance of using fertilizers, even though they believe that organic fertilizers are the best to use in the field, even though they show little information on the subject.