Rochagem como fonte de silício para a cultura do milho

Abstract

Silicon has considered a beneficial element for various plants, and the use of silicon in agriculture has intensified in recent years. In the meantime, the stonemeal, a slowly alternative source of macro and microelements to supply the plant growth, has also increased because the demand of non-polluting sources of fertilizers. The objective of this work was to evaluate the potential of silicon supply to the soil and plant, the components of the production and the productivity for the corn crop due to different doses of rock powder associate or not with a bioactive. The experiment was conducted on an Oxisol. The experiment was completely randomized as factorial design (5x2), and containing five doses of rock powder (0, 2, 4, 8, 16 t ha1) associated or nor with bioactive (0 or 0.54 g/plot) with four replicate. In all useful parcel areas, leaves collected to quantify the silicon levels, and date to evaluate the ear length, number of grain row per ear, ear diameter, and the productivity. After the harvest, the soil samples collected at the (0 – 10 cm) and (10 – 20 cm) depth to characterized de Si levels. The doses increase of crushed basalt influenced to reduce the Si plat level; however, it did not reduce the productivity. Application of highest doses of serpentinite (silicate of magnesium) contributed to increase the Si levels in the soil independently of the bioactive application. For the other characteristics, Si in the soil with crushed basalt, Si plant levels with silicate of magnesium, components of the production and the productivity there were not a statistic variance for the rock powder doses and the interaction with the bioactive.