Open Access

ARTICLE

Colored Tubes and Chlorella Vulgaris Bioinput Improve Growth and Quality of Hancornia speciosa Seedlings

Giovana Pinheiro Viana da Silva¹, Edilson Costa^1,*, Paulo Henrique Rosa Melo¹, Fernanda Pacheco de Almeida Prado Bortolheiro¹, Thaise Dantas², Flávio Ferreira da Silva Binotti¹, Carlos Eduardo da Silva Oliveira¹, Abimael Gomes da Silva¹

1 Agronomy Department, Mato Grosso do Sul State University, Cassilândia, 79543-899, MS, Brazil
2 Agronomy Department, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados, 79804-970, MS, Brazil

* Corresponding Author: Edilson Costa. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Plant and Environments)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(10), 3109-3123. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.070221

Received 10 July 2025; Accepted 15 September 2025; Issue published 29 October 2025

Abstract

Hancornia speciosa ‘Gomes’, commonly known as mangabeira, is a fruit-bearing tree native to Brazil that plays a crucial role in sustaining its native biome, restoring degraded areas, and improving the socio-environmental conditions of these regions. The use of colored materials and bioinputs can help improve the quality of seedling production of Hancornia speciosa. This study aimed to evaluate the use of colored seedling tubes and a Chlorella vulgaris-based bioinput in developing Hancornia speciosa seedlings. The experiment was conducted at the Mato Grosso do Sul State University (UEMS), in Cassilândia, MS, using a completely randomized design in a 5 × 2 factorial arrangement. Treatments included colored reflective tubes (blue, white, red, yellow, and black) and bioinput application (absence or presence). The Hancornia speciosa seeds were collected near the Cassilândia campus and the Chlorella vulgaris-based bioinput was produced at the Microalgae and Biotechnology Laboratory of the Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável do Bolsão Sul-Mato-Grossense (CEDESU). The bioinput was applied at sowing and after 30, 60 and 90 days after emergence (DAE), totalizing three applications. An increase in plant height, number of leaves, chlorophyll a and total, CO₂ assimilation rate, water use efficiency was observed. The combination of tube color and the presence of the Chlorella vulgaris bioinput significantly improved biometric traits, seedling quality index, chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll content, and CO₂ concentration, thus enhancing the seedling quality and potentially increasing field establishment and survival rates.

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Keywords

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