Doses of carnauba leaf residues and corn yield

Abstract

Corn yield can be increased with the application of doses of residues from perennial plant species. Many growers in Northeastern Brazil use carnauba (a palm tree native to that region) leaf residues to address deficiencies in soils that are poor in organic matter. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of application of carnauba leaf residue doses on the green ear yields of two corn cultivars. Additionally, we also evaluated corn grain yield. Six doses of leaf residues (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 mg ha -1 ) were applied in the sowing furrows of two corn cultivars (AG 1051 and BR 106). A completely randomized block design with five replicates and split-plots were used (doses in plots). Increased doses of leaf residues resulted in higher total numbers of green ears and higher numbers and weight of marketable unhusked green ears (BR 106), and higher total green ear weight, marketable husked green ear weight, and grain yield (AG 1051 and BR 106). However, the application of carnauba leaf residues did not influence the total number of green ears, number of marketable unhusked ears, unhusked ear weight (AG 1051), and number of marketable husked ears (AG 1051 and BR 106). Cultivar BR 106 was superior to cultivar AG 1051 in total number of green ears and number of marketable unhusked green ears, while the opposite occurred for green ear weight and grain yield.