Dry biomass production and nutrient content in maize in response to dose and localization of osmocote in samples of dark-red latosol and quartz-sand

Abstract

An experiment was carried out in green house with the purpose to evaluate the effect of three NPK sources: osmocote (18-6-12), solid NPK and liquid NPK, as well as to compare the behaviour of osmocote in relation to nutrient release in two soils with different texture and to evaluate the dry biomass production and nutrient content in response to different doses and localizations of osmocote. The treatment arrangements were obtained by Baconian matrix and consisted of the combination of doses, sources and localization of fertilizers in red-dark latosol and quartz-sand. After forty days of sowing maize dry biomass production and NPK content of plants, as well as P and K contend in soil were evaluated. A greater P and K tenor available in the sand soil was observed, while a larger dry biomass production was obtained in the clay soil. With osmocote use P additional dose was necessary, since this nutrient concentration is small or the release was not so fast to attend the requirement of maize plants during the evaluated sowing period.