Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of fertigation with humic substances, with and without the addition of plant extracts, on the root system of the 'BRS Princesa' banana cultivar. The banana crop was cultivated at a spacing of 2.0 x 2.5 m and fertigated using a drip system in a dystrocohesive Yellow Latosol. The experimental design was randomized blocks, in a split-split-plot scheme with five replicates, for the following factors: humic substance doses and presence of a plant extract formulation. The treatments consisted of five doses of humic substances, based on a reference dose of 14.14 L ha -1 cycle -1 , in the presence and absence of plant extract. The variable root length (cm) was subjected to variance analyses to evaluate the effect of the humic substances, either isolated or in interaction with plant extract and soil depth. The use of the plant extract increased the effect of the humic substance on root length but overshadowed its effect for the different doses of humic substance. Root length was not sensitive to increasing humic substance dose with plant extract for doses of up to 42.42 L ha -1 at 0 – 0.40 m depth.
Highlights
The plant root system plays an important role in the interactions between the soil and the banana crop, and knowledge regarding its distribution in the soil allows better use of cultivation practices, such as irrigation management (Coelho, Oliveira, Araújo, Vasconcelos, & Lima, 2001; Fracaro, & Pereira, 2004)
According to the regression analysis for the dependent variable root length (RL) as a function of humic substance (HS) doses combined with Plant extract (PE), there was no fitting of the RL data, there were no differences observed for this variable between doses
This contribution may be due to the biocidal aspects of triterpenoid saponins, the main component of the plant extract, which may have favoured the sanitation of the root environment, possibly acting on nematodes, which damage the root system (Ritzinger, Borges, Ledo, & Caldas, 2007), resulting in better root development than with only HS application
Summary
The plant root system plays an important role in the interactions between the soil and the banana crop, and knowledge regarding its distribution in the soil allows better use of cultivation practices, such as irrigation management (Coelho, Oliveira, Araújo, Vasconcelos, & Lima, 2001; Fracaro, & Pereira, 2004).For crop management, it is important to know various agronomic factors, including the root system development and distribution, as practices such asActa Scientiarum. The plant root system plays an important role in the interactions between the soil and the banana crop, and knowledge regarding its distribution in the soil allows better use of cultivation practices, such as irrigation management (Coelho, Oliveira, Araújo, Vasconcelos, & Lima, 2001; Fracaro, & Pereira, 2004). Agronomy irrigation and soil management can be better applied to increase crop yield when informed by knowledge on the plant root system (Hughes, Horne, Ross, & Julian, 1992; Fante Júnior, Reichardt, Jorge, & Bacchi, 1999). Coelho et al (2001) reiterate that knowledge regarding root distribution is an important tool with respect to irrigation projects, as the amount of water applied must maintain the soil near field capacity at the effective root depth. The distribution of roots in the soil, both horizontally and vertically, is strongly influenced by a series of complex and dynamic processes, which include interactions among the environment, the soil (e.g., soil type, porosity, compaction, water availability) and the plants in full growth (Fante Junior et al, 1999; Robinson, & Galan Sauco, 2010)
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