Evaluación agronómica de sustratos biodegradables en condiciones de vivero para plántulas de cacao

In the department of Caquetá, Colombia, common cocoa cultivation has been promoted as an alternative to illicit crop substitution projects. This crop has been supported by public and private institutions, including the departmental agriculture secretariat, municipal governments, the Departmental Association of Fruit Growers and Cocoa Producers (ACAMAFRUT), and producers grouped in Municipal Cocoa Committees. ACAMAFRUT produces the plant material for the promotion projects, using traditional plastic bags as plant containers. This practice has negative environmental impacts such as soil movement from riverbanks to nurseries, plastic pollution, and the use of soil conditioners, representing a high economic and logistical investment. At the end of the production cycle, each bag has an average weight of 2 kilograms, which is a limiting factor for communities due to the difficulties of transporting them to the initial plantations in the field. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to analyze the behavior of alternative biodegradable pilons made from palm and coconut compared to the traditional pilon. This process was carried out in the municipality of Florencia, Caquetá, in the nursery managed by the Caquetá government. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used, and the following variables were evaluated: number of leaves, leaf length (cm), leaf width (cm), stem height (cm), stem diameter (mm), duration in days from sowing to grafting, and production cost of plant material per treatment.