EVALUATION OF RUBBER NURSERY PLANTING METHODS, BY DIRECT SOWING IN THE FIELD, WITHOUT SEED BED AND TRANSPLANTING

This work was carried out in field conditions, from April to May of 19 91, at Goiania experimental station of the Emgopa, State of Goias, Bra zil. Its objective was to evaluate different methods of planting rubbe r nursery [Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex Adr. de Juss.) Muell. Arg.], by direct sowing in the field, without seed bed and transplanting. The experimental design was a randomised complete blocks, with five repli cations and five treatments. Beyond the traditional field nursery (con trol method with seed bed and transplanting), it was tested four other methods of direct sowing of seeds, both in small planting holes and s hallow furrows (4-5 cm deep), in which seeds were slightly covered by a thin layer (less than or equal to 2 cm) of both soil and sawdust. Tr eatments were technically and economically compared based on accumulat e percentage of normal seedlings, every five days, from 10 to 40 days after sowing; and labor and material demand. The results showed that, for field nurseries, the method of direct and shallow sowing of rubber seeds and its light covering by soil is technically and economically more efficient than the traditional and other methods tested.