APLICAÇÃO DE ÁGUA TRATADA MAGNETICAMENTE EM MUDAS DE TOMATE E ESTUDO DA VIABILIDADE ECONÔMICA DA PRODUÇÃO

Abstract

The technique of magnetizing irrigation water has been successfully adopted for producing seedlings of different varieties; however, in addition to the agronomic benefits, analyzing the economic viability is an important indicator affecting the producer's decision in acquiring this technology. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of magnetic treatment of irrigation water on the growth and development of tomato seedlings, and its economic viability. Experiments I, II and III were treated with quality water (magnetized and non-magnetized) and different substrates. The application of magnetically treated water in the three experiments did not reduce any variables. Furthermore, magnetic treatment of irrigation water proved to be advantageous because it improved the final emergence percentage by 32.19% and 19.28% in experiments II and III, respectively. The growth of tomato seedlings was verified by the 53.97% increase in shoot dry matter in experiment II and by 29.77% increase in shoot fresh matter in experiment III. The seedlings that received magnetically treated water observed 14.61% increase in the speed of germination index in experiment I. Studying the economic viability revealed that using magnetizer to produce tomato seedlings was financially viable, as it reduced the discounted payback from 4.18 to 1.87 years and increased the accumulated net present value of 5 years from US$ 1,814.00 to US$ 14,593.00