Growth of Jatropha curcas L. fertilized with nitrogen and potassium under conditions of dry tropical forest of Colombia

Abstract

Due to the demand in biofuel, the plant species that are not eatable and do not compete with traditional crops in Colombia, such as Jatropha curcas L., have become an important option. To produce more knowledge on the growth of this species, the research was carried out with different amounts of N and K fertilizers applied during the first 435 days after sowing (das) under dry tropical forest conditions. With the highest N dose (150 kg ha-1), the largest leaf area index was obtained in all evaluation period. The highest net assimilation rate (NAR) values were seen in the treatment with 150 kg ha-1 of N at 75 das, 1.852 g m-2 d-1, with no differences presented among the treatments with fertilizer application. The highest absolute growth rate (AGR) was observed when 150 kg ha-1 of N+180 kg ha-1of K2O were applied at the start of the reproductive phase (345 das), 24.5 g d-1. The specific leaf area (SLA) did not present a response to the treatments. The relative growth rate (RGR) reached zero value at 402 das for the plants without fertilizers. The accumulation of biomass in J. curcas was influenced by the fertilizers with N and K, presenting rapid initial vegetative growth (first 165 das) which decreased with the starting of the reproductive phase.