APLICAÇÃO DE BIOESTIMULANTES VIA FOLIAR NA CULTURA DO MILHO

Abstract

The experiment was conducted from March 2022 to July 2022, at Fazenda Cristalina, located in the municipality of Amorinópolis, state of Goiás. The experimental design used was randomized blocks in a factorial scheme A x B + 1 (Factor A – doses of biostimulant; Factor B – number of applications), using the commercial product Speed Advantage®, at doses of: 250, 500, 750, 1000 mL of ha-1), with four replicates. Each experimental plot consisted of six rows of corn, 5.0 meters long, spaced 0.45 m apart, totaling a total area of 13.5 m². For the evaluations, only the three central lines were used, excluding 0.5 m at each end to form the border. The application of the biostimulant doses was carried out with a knapsack sprayer pressurized with CO2, maintained at a constant pressure of 210 kPa, equipped with a 2-meter bar with 4 nozzles and DG 110 02 tips, with consumption of spray equivalent to 200 L ha-1. When 50% + 1 of the corn plants reached the phenological stage R1 – doll-up, the growth variables were evaluated: stem diameter and plant height, together with the SPAD index of chlorophyll. After these determinations, at the phenological stage R6 – physiological maturation, ear length and diameter were analyzed; the mass of a thousand grains and productivity. The obtained data were submitted to the analysis of variance by the F test and Tukey test in the comparison of the means of the treatments with the control. Then, in the factorial, the Tukey test was applied again to compare the means of the treatments with the control. The application of the biostimulant Speed Advantage® increases the growth of morphological and productive components of corn plants, with a positive impact on grain yield. Doses of the biostimulant Speed Advantage® ranging from 250 to 750 mL ha-1 increase the grain yield of the DKB 335 PRO3 maize hybrid, regardless of the phenological stages in which they were applied (number of applications). With the application of a dose of 1000 mL ha-1 of the biostimulant Speed Advantage®, grain productivity was lower than that obtained with doses ranging from 250 to 750 mL ha-1, regardless of the phenological stages in which they were applied (number of applications).