Liming and Boron in a Teak Crop Established during Early Stages in an Acid Soil

Abstract

ABSTRACTCultivation of a teak crop in acid soils needs adequate agronomic management of these characteristics of high acidity and low nutrient supply to obtain high yields in wood. This work evaluated the effect of liming and application of boron in teak plants during early stage of growth in acid soils from Córdoba, Colombia. The experiments were conducted in the greenhouse and soils laboratory of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences by using acid soil limed with calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) and fertilized with boron. The treatments were chosen according to the Box Bernard augmented matrix 3, with dosages of Ca(OH)2 from 300 to 5700 kg ha−1 and boron from 0.3 to 5.225 kg ha−1, using three repetitions per treatment. Data obtained on boron in the soils (Bs) and in the plant (Bp), foliar area (AF), leaf dry mass (MSH), and roots (MSR) were analyzed through means tests and regressions from response surfaces (p ≤ 0.05). The results indicated increased pH and in the soil’s exchangeable calcium (Ca). To reach the maximal AF, the dosages of 2.26 kg ha−1 of boron (B) and 4522.6 kg ha−1 of Ca(OH)2 were estimated; for MSH, stem, and roots boron, dosages ranged between 2.02 and 5.225, with the dosage of 5700 kg ha−1 of Ca(OH)2 in all the variables evaluated. Application of calcium hydroxide also showed positive effect in leaf, stem, and MSR gain of teak seedlings during early growth stages. Fertilization with boron (B) did not show significant effect upon growth of dry masses of the parts evaluated.