Nitrogen and potassium fertilization in yield and macronutrients contents of heliconia cv. Golden Torch

Márkilla Z Beckmann-Cavalcante,Augusto M N Lima,Leonardo P Da S Brito,Genilda C Amaral,Ítalo H L Cavalcante,Alcimar De S E Silva

doi:10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v20n4p337-342

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the effect of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) fertilization in yield and contents of macronutrients in heliconia plants (Heliconia psittacorum x Heliconia spathocircinata Aristeguieta) cv. Golden Torch. The experiment was set in a randomized block design, in a 4 x 4 factorial, corresponding to N doses (0, 120, 180 and 240 g of N hole-1) and K doses (0, 120, 180 and 240 g of K2O hole-1) with four replicates and five rhizomes per plot, under field conditions. After one year of cultivation, yield (number of flower stems per square meter) and the leaf contents of N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S were determined. The applied N doses did not influence either yield or the leaf contents of the evaluated macronutrients. K fertilization favored the increase in leaf K content and the decrease in the contents of P, Ca and Mg in leaves of heliconias. Under the conditions of this experiment, it is recommended to apply 161.46 g of K2O hole-1 for a maximum yield of 9.89 stems m-2 per month.

Highlights

Material and MethodsPlants from the genus Heliconia, belonging to the Heliconiaceae family, are used as garden plants or cut flowers, adapting to pots or composing flower arrangements, because they have important characteristics for marketing, such as the ornamental character, resistance to transport and post-harvest durability (Castro et al, 2007)
This study aimed to evaluate the effect of N and K fertilization on the yield and macronutrient contents of heliconias cv
Paulino et al (2013) obtained mean yield of 9.3 to 10.2 stems m-2 per month when different sources and doses of silicon were applied in the soil cultivated with heliconia cv

Summary

Material and Methods

Plants from the genus Heliconia, belonging to the Heliconiaceae family, are used as garden plants or cut flowers, adapting to pots or composing flower arrangements, because they have important characteristics for marketing, such as the ornamental character, resistance to transport and post-harvest durability (Castro et al, 2007). According to Lamas (2002), heliconias have great demand for nutrients, especially nitrogen and potassium, requiring in increasing order the following macronutrients: K > N > Ca > S > Mg > P; and micronutrients: Mn > Fe > Zn > B > Cu. Despite the researches in the literature on the demands in the areas of soil fertility and mineral nutrition for heliconias (Albuquerque et al.; 2010; Farias et al, 2013; Paulino et al, 2013; Albuquerque et al, 2014; Viégas et al, 2014; Amaral et al, 2015; Beckmann-Cavalcante et al, 2015; Castro et al, 2015) and these aspects constitute the most determinant factors for the production of this crop, as well as its quality and resistance to diseases, the results come from specific edaphoclimatic conditions. Since no significant interactions occurred for the studied factors, simple regression analyses were performed for the effect of K doses using the statistical package SigmaPlot version 10.0 (SPSS, 2006), identifying the ones with the best fit, according to the coefficient of determination (R2)

Results and Discussion

Conclusions

Literature Cited