Effect of different phosphorus sources on early coffee plant development

Abstract

Coffee growing has great economic importance for Brazil, especially for the south of Minas Gerais. To plant the crop, initial care such as soil corrective practices are necessary to ensure good crop establishment. Defining the best phosphate source for implementation is one of these precautions. Therefore, this study aimed to define the best phosphate source to be used in the implementation of a coffee crop aiming at greater vegetative development of seedlings in the field. For this, an experiment was set up, with coffee seedlings grown in pots, whose experimental design was in randomized blocks with seven treatments (Struvite, Monoammonium Phosphate, Reactive Natural Phosphate, Simple Superphosphate, Triple Superphosphate, Thermophosphate and Control) and five replications. . The Catuaí red cultivar, approximately 5 months old, was used. Assessments were carried out such as: Collar diameter, Plant height, Root dry mass, Stem dry mass, Leaf dry mass, Total dry mass, leaf phosphorus content, in addition to the Dickson quality index. There was no significant difference between the sources for plant height, however, for root diameter and dry matter of roots and shoots, the sources that presented the best results were natural reactive phosphate and monoammonium phosphate. These sources also provided the best Dickson quality index, indicating that they are the best option when it comes to the initial development of coffee seedlings. Therefore, for planting coffee, it is recommended to use these sources or a combination between them.