Abstract
ABSTRACT Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a nutritionally demanding crop, and phosphorus (P) is a nutrient that exerts a large effect on tuber yield. However, as the availability of P is influenced by soil texture, there are doubts about how P supplementation affects the growth and yield of potato plants in different soil textures. Thus, here we aimed to evaluate the effect of P fertilization and soil texture on the nutrition, growth, tuber yield, and P use efficiency (PUE) of potato plants. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions in a randomized block design with a 4×2 factorial scheme and five replications. The treatments were represented by four P rates (10, 50, 100, and 200 mg dm-3 P) and two soil textures (clayey and sandy). The concentrations of P, Ca, and Mg in the leaves were higher in sandy soil, and P rates increased the concentrations of N, P, and Ca in the leaves of potato plants. Phosphorus fertilization increased plant growth, the amount of P accumulated in the shoot, and tuber yield in both soils; this trend was stronger in the potato cultivated in the clayey soil than in the sandy soil. The applied-PUE was not affected by soil texture. In the potato cultivated in the sandy soil, the taken up-PUE was reduced due to the decrease in dry matter production and an increase in P concentration in the organs of the plant with higher P fertilizer rates.
Highlights
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a crop that has high production efficiency in a relatively short cycle, presenting high nutrient demand (FERNANDES; SORATTO; PILON, 2015)
The leaf concentration of K and Zn were not influenced by the factors studied and were, on average, 59.8 g kg-1 and 25.4 mg kg-1, respectively (Table 2). These results demonstrate that the potato plants were not deficient in these nutrients since the concentration obtained were within the range described as suitable for the crop (40 to 65 g kg-1 K and 20 to 60 mg kg-1 Zn) (LORENZI et al, 1997)
Phosphorus fertilization increased amounts of P accumulated in tubers and whole plants up to the estimated rates of 157 and 155 mg dm-3 P, respectively (Table 3). These results demonstrate that phosphorus fertilization increases the growth, tuber yield, and P uptake of potato plants, but that the application of high P rates can decrease the uptake of this nutrient by reducing the dry matter accumulation (DM) production of the plants, with this effect being more drastic in sandy soils
Summary
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a crop that has high production efficiency in a relatively short cycle, presenting high nutrient demand (FERNANDES; SORATTO; PILON, 2015). This demand varies, in addition to other factors, depending on the nutrient dynamics in the soil and the nutrient uptake capacity in the soil by the crop. Phosphorus (P) is not the most taken up nutrient (FERNANDES; SORATTO; SILVA, 2011), but phosphate fertilizers have been used at high rates because the plant is considered inefficient in P uptake, especially in soils deficient in this nutrient (DECHASSA et al, 2003). The management of phosphorus fertilization must be performed to maintain sufficient P availability in the soil to meet the nutritional needs of the crop
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