Equitable doses of hairy woodrose (Merremia aegyptia L.) plus goat manure at different periods of incorporation into the soil on the agronomic productivity of arugula

The use of the mixture of plant and animal waste constitutes an alternative for use as a source of organic fertilizer in the production of vegetables. The experiment was conducted at the Rafael Fernandes Experimental Farm, located in the Alagoinha district, rural area of Mossoró-RN, with the objective of evaluating equitable doses of hairy woodrose and goat manure at different periods of incorporation into the soil on the agroeconomic productivity of arugula. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with treatments arranged in a 4 x 4 factorial scheme, with three replications. The treatments consisted of the combination of four equal doses of hairy woodrose (Merremia aegyptia L.) and goat manure (0.0; 2.0; 4.0 and 8.0 kg m-2 of dry matter) with four incorporation times (0; 15; 30 and 45 days before planting - DAS). The arugula cultivar used was "Cultivada." The characteristics evaluated were: plant height, number of leaves per plant, arugula productivity, number of bunches, and dry mass of the aerial part. The highest productivity and number of arugula bunches were observed at a dose of 8.0 kg m-2 and incorporation time of thirty days before sowing of the equal mixture of hairy woodrose (Merremia aegyptia L.) and goat manure with maximum values of 1,065 g m-2 and 20.78 units m-2. The use of hairy woodrose (Merremia aegyptia L.) combined with bovine manure constitutes a viable alternative for family farmers in the semi-arid region, given the availability of these fertilizers in the cultivated areas.