| ABSTRACT The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of a water-retaining polymer on the initial growth of coffee plants for different levels of irrigation and types of seedling. The experiment was set up in pots with a clayey soil, in a greenhouse of the Sector for Coffee Production of the Federal University of Lavras, Brazil. The experiment was arranged in a randomised block design into sub-lots with three replications, giving a total of 48 experimental units. Four levels of irrigation (25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the available water) were randomly assigned to the lots; the type of seedling (grown in bags or tubes) were randomly assigned to the sub-lots, and the use or not of the water-retaining polymer randomly assigned to the sub-sub-lots. In the... |
