Ammonium sulfate rates affect the Structural Characteristics, Biomass and Crude Protein of BRS Tamani Grass

Victor Luan Da Silva De Abreu,Gustavo De Faria Theodoro,Patrick Bezerra Fernandes,Gelson Dos Santos Difante,Rafael Padilha De Rezende,Henrique De Oliveira Golin,Gumercindo Loriano Franco

doi:10.5296/jas.v8i4.17336

Victor Luan Da Silva De Abreu, Gustavo De Faria Theodoro + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5296/jas.v8i4.17336

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Abstract

The mineral nutrition of forage species is essential for the maintenance of sustainable livestock systems, since it can increase animal productivity per area. Panicum maximum is considered nutritionally demanding. However, the behavior of modern cultivars under nitrogen fertilization is unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of increasing doses of nitrogen (N) on the structural characteristics, forage biomass, and crude protein (CP) of cultivar BRS Tamani. The experimental design was randomized blocks, and the treatments consisted of six N doses (0, 62.5, 125, 250, 375, and 500 N mg∙dm-3) using ammonium sulfate (AS) fertilizer, divided into three coverage applications under greenhouse conditions. Three cuts were made from all treatments, separated by an interval of 30 days. The interval between cuts was considered a split-plot effect. There was no interaction effect between the cuts and AS doses for the number of leaves tiller-1 or crude protein. However, there was an interaction effect for the leaf length, number of tillers, and biomass. The use of doses between 280 and 380 mg N∙dm-³ influenced the structural characteristics of the canopy and biomass of 'BRS Tamani' grass. The highest CP value was recorded in the first cut.

Highlights

Nitrogen (N) is one of the nutrients that most influences the phenotypic plasticity of grass tillers
Due to the diversity of grasses that exist in tropical climate environments, each genus and cultivar has different management requirements, due to the variations presented in the tissue flow and biomass production (Oliveira et al, 2020; Veras et al, 2020a; 2020b)
Proportionality was observed between the N doses (P = 0.356), with an estimated mean value of 2.2 leaves tiller-1

Summary

Introduction

Nitrogen (N) is one of the nutrients that most influences the phenotypic plasticity of grass tillers. Due to the diversity of grasses that exist in tropical climate environments, each genus and cultivar has different management requirements (e.g., fertilization and defoliation strategies), due to the variations presented in the tissue flow and biomass production (Oliveira et al, 2020; Veras et al, 2020a; 2020b). Panicum maximum has a high rate of organogenesis, organ expansion, tissue flow, and forage accumulation in relation to other grasses from tropical climates (Rodrigues et al, 2012; Gomide et al, 2019). Costa et al (2010) stated that, due to the lower N losses through volatilization, the use of ammonium sulfate (300 kg of N ha-1) results in greater increases in biomass production compared to other N sources To ensure that the biomass production presents satisfactory agronomic values, it is necessary to consider the effects of the N source that will be used. Costa et al (2010) stated that, due to the lower N losses through volatilization, the use of ammonium sulfate (300 kg of N ha-1) results in greater increases in biomass production compared to other N sources

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