Polymer-coated phosphate fertilizer and liming on the production and morphological parameters of corn

Abstract

The low availability of phosphorus in acid soils, such as those of the Cerrado, requires the efficient management of phosphorus fertilization. The use of technologies that increase the efficiency of phosphorus use is an alternative that can be adopted, provided the reality of Brazilian soils is taken into consideration. This work was carried out to evaluate the effect of polymer-coated phosphate fertilizer associated with liming on the production and morphological parameters of corn crops. The study was conducted in the field, in a red-yellow latosol. The experimental design was of randomized blocks arranged in a 2 x 4 factorial, with three replications. The treatments resulted from a combination of two sources of phosphorus (conventional MAP and polymer-coated MAP - Kimcoat ®) at four levels of saturation (27%, 40%, 50% and 60%). The sources of phosphorus displayed differences dependent on the base levels of saturation. The polymer-coated MAP improved the performance of corn, for productivity, total dry-matter yield and plant height, in relation to conventional MAP. The major differences were observed at base saturation levels of 40% and 50%, in which the coated MAP promoted an increase in grain yield of 3.40 and 3.48 t ha-1, respectively, compared to conventional MAP.