EFFECT OF POTASSIUM CHLORIDE DOSES ON MAIZE GERMINATION AND SEEDLING GROWTH IN SOILS WITH CONTRASTING TEXTURES

• Main Authors: LUIS SANGOI, PAULO ROBERTO ERNANI, PAULA BIANCHET, VITOR PAULO VARGAS, GILMAR JOSÉ PICOLI
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Associação Brasileira de Milho e Sorgo 2009-08-01
• Series: Revista Brasileira de Milho e Sorgo
• Subjects: Zea mays; potassium fertilizer; salinity; emergence
• Online Access: http://rbms.cnpms.embrapa.br/index.php/ojs/article/view/280/289

The use of high potassium fertilizer rates at sowing increases the soil electrolytic concentration, harming root development. This work was carried out aiming to evaluate the effects of increasing doses of KCl applied at the sowing row on maize germination and initial growth. A lab experiment was set in the city of Lages, SC. Six doses of KCl, equivalent to 0, 20, 40, 80, 120 and 160 Kg ha-1 of K2O, were applied to soils with contrasting clay contents. Germination percentage, shoot and root dry mass and soil electrical conductivity were evaluated. Seed germination was reduced at the highestKCl dose in three of the five tested soils, being more pronounced in the soil presenting the lowest clay content. Shoot and root dry mass decreased when the highest KCl dose was used, in all soils. Electrical conductivity increased proportionally to the enhancement in KCl rate, regardless of soil texture. The use of high KCl rates at the sowing reduces maize germination and seedling growth, mainly in sandy soils with low buffer capacity.