APLICAÇÃO DE DIFERENTES FONTES E DOSES DE BORO NA CULTURA DO MILHO

Abstract

One of the main problems facing maize crop, especially in Cerrado regions, is micronutrient deficiency. Among the micronutrients essential for plant development, boron (B) stands out for participating in a series of physiological processes. Based on this, the present work aimed to evaluate the performance of corn to borate fertilization with different sources and doses of B. The experimental design was a randomized block design in a 4x3 factorial arrangement with four doses of B (0, 1, 2 and 3 kg ha-1) and three nutrient sources (boric acid, borax and ulexite), applied as cover. The variables evaluated were plant height (cm), stem diameter (mm), first ear insertion height (m), ear length (cm), ear diameter (mm), number of rows per ear, number of grains per row, mass of one thousand grains (g) and yield (kg ha-1). It was concluded that the sources and doses of B used did not present statistical differences among them in the results of plant height, first ear insertion height, number of rows per ear and yield. The three doses evaluated provided increases in stem diameter, with the dose of 2,08 kg ha-1 obtaining the best average. The application of borax and ulexite results in larger ear diameter, number of grains per row and mass of one thousand grains. The dose of 1,74 kg of B ha-1 provides greater mass of one thousand grains.