Response of young guava plants cultivar ‘Século XXI’ to phosphorus fertilization

• Main Authors: Ítalo Wigliff Leite Pachico, Renato de Mello Prado, Saulo Samuel Carneiro Praxedes, Claudio Rodrigues Anders
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Communications in Plant Sciences 2012-05-01
• Series: Communications in Plant Sciences
• Subjects: Psidium guajava L.; P fertilization; Plant nutrition.
• Online Access: http://complantsci.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/complantsci_2_1_6.pdf

Information on nutritional aspects related to phosphorus fertilization is especially important since guava plants are cultivated mainly in tropical regions where P levels are low. The objective of this research was to evaluate the response of young guava plants of cultivar ‘Século XXI’ to phosphorus applied into the soil. The experiment was carried out in 3 dm3 pots filled with samples of a dystrophic Red Latosol (P resin: 8 mg dm-3). Treatments consisted of applying doses of 0, 90, 180, 270, and 360 mg kg-1 of P, and were arranged in a completely randomized design with four replicates. At 175 days after transplanting, P doses applied into soil increase P levels in both soil and plant tissues, resulting in increasing dry mass of guava plants cultivar ‘Século XXI’. The highest development of young guava plants are attained when P is applied from 155 up to 210 mg kg-1 into soil and when P level in leaf tissues occurs from 1.1 up to 1.8 mg kg-1.