Abstract
ABSTRACT The characterization of litterfall in forest and agroforest systems is important to better understand the cycling of nutrients, however, few studies on litterfall of fruit trees, such as banana, are found. Therefore, the objective of this work was assess the production and decomposition and chemically characterize the litterfall of banana genotypes cropped in a dystrophic typical Red-Yellow Latossol, with weak A horizon, medium texture in a hypo-xerophytic Caatinga in the Southwest of Bahia, Brazil. A completely randomized experimental design was used, with twelve treatments (genotypes) and five replications. The genotypes Preciosa, Pacovan-Ken and Maravilha presented the greatest dry weight. The genotype Fhia18 showed the longest half-life of litterfall decomposition. The banana genotypes Preciosa, Maravilha and Pacovan-Ken produce the greatest contents of litterfall, and their chemical characterization shows the descending order Ca>N>Mg>K>S>P for macronutrients and Fe>Mn>B>Zn>Cu for micronutrients. The banana genotypes PV-79-34, Garantida, Pacovan, JV-42-135, Prata-Anã, Pacovan-Ken, Preciosa and Maravilha present the lowest number of days for decomposition of the litterfall accumulated.
Highlights
Banana (Musa spp.) crops have great socio-economic importance for the producing countries
Researches on production, decomposition and chemical characterization of litterfall are mainly conducted in forest and agroforest systems (BRUN; FERRAZ; ARAÚJO, 2013; SILVA et al, 2014; LOPES; ARAÚJO; VASCONCELLOS, 2013; OZIEGBE; MUOGHALU; OKE, 2011)
The litterfall dry weight found formed two groups by the Scott-Knott criterion, at 5% of probability (Figure 2), one formed by the genotypes with the greatest productions: Preciosa (14,964.96 kg ha-1), Maravilha (13,981.52 kg ha-1) and Pacovan-Ken (13,453.80 kg ha-1), and other formed by the remaining genotypes
Summary
Banana (Musa spp.) crops have great socio-economic importance for the producing countries. This fruit is grown in various tropical regions, with India, Uganda, the Philippines, China, Ecuador and Brazil accounting for about 60% of world production (FAO, 2014). Plant breeding programs of banana began to select new genotypes with superior characteristics and recommend cultivars, mainly, due to phytosanitary problems. In this regard, several studies with field evaluations were performed on agronomic performance of different banana genotypes (DONATO et al, 2009; AZEVEDO et al, 2010). Studies on litterfall from cultivated fruit trees, such as banana, are not found in the literature
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