Resumo

MELLO PRADO, Renato de  e  MAXIMINO FERNANDES, Francisco. Economic aspect of the use of the slag of siderurgy in the sugar cane during five cycles of production. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2010, vol.28, n.3, pp.273-279. ISSN 2395-8030.

The present work aimed to analyse some economic aspects of different corrective materials to the slag of siderurgy and the limestone, objecting the best benefit/cost relation for establishing the sugar cane culture. The work was accomplished in the city of Ituverava (São Paulo state, Brazil) in a Red-Yellow Latosol (V = 26%). It was used the experimental design in randomized blocks, in a factorial plan 2 × 4, with four repetitions. The factors consisted of two corrective materials (slag of siderurgy and high-calcium limestone) and four doses: 0; 1.23, 2.52 and 3.8 Mg ha^-1 equivalent to CaCO₃. The production of items and the economic aspects were evaluated by five cycles of cultivation (1998 to 2002), the production of stems and the economic aspects (net value, net revenue and benefit/cost relation). In the first two sugar cane cycles, the corrective materials increased the economic return, obtaining a higher benefit/cost relation, in the dose of 1.23 Mg ha^-1 equivalent in CaCO₃. However, in the other sugar cane rattoons the limestone and slag of siderurgy dose that provided the best benefit/cost relation was the one of 2.52 and 3.8 Mg ha^-1, respectively. The use of slag of siderurgy provided higher economic return in the cultivation of the sugar cane rattoons, and it even amplified one sugar cane rattoon cycle with a positive benefit/cost relation, when compared to the limestone.

Palavras-chave : Saccharum spp.; prodution of culms; cost/benefit; profitability.