Uso de potencial remineralizador de solo como fonte de potássio na cultura do trigo (Triticum Aestivum)

Abstract

Wheat is a cereal of great economic and nutritional importance, but its productivity is limited in tropical soils with low natural fertility. Given this, the use of alternative potassium sources can be a viable strategy to reduce costs and improve soil attributes. As an alternative to the exclusive use of soluble fertilizers, the use of rock remineralizers emerges as a viable strategy to reduce production costs and improve the chemical and physical attributes of the soil, releasing nutrients gradually and contributing to system sustainability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different potassium sources on the development and production of wheat, variety BRS 264, cultivated in two Yellow Latosols. The experiment was conducted from January to March 2022 in the Prof. Rafael Navas greenhouse at CECA/UFAL, in Rio Largo-AL. A completely randomized design was adopted in a 2x8 factorial scheme, with two soils: UFAL/CECA and IFAL/Satuba, and eight nutrient sources: control soil, KCl, R_90_20, R_100, R_200, R_300, R_400 and R_500, where each treatment corresponds to each rock powder dosage, with five replications, totaling 80 plots. Each pot received 6 kg of soil and remained incubated for seven days after treatment application. Five seeds were sown per pot and irrigation was manual, keeping the soil near field capacity. At 90 days, plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, fresh and dry mass of shoots and roots, and grain weight and number were evaluated. Data were subjected to ANOVA and means were compared by the Scott-Knott test at 5%. The soils showed low base saturation and K contents of 35 and 50 mg/dm3. The R_400 and R_500 sources provided greater ear fresh mass and grain number in the IFAL/Satuba soil. In the UFAL/CECA soil, R_100 resulted in a higher grain number. It is concluded that alternative potassium sources, especially R_400 and R_500, are efficient for wheat cultivation in Yellow Latosol, showing potential to partially replace KCl under the evaluated conditions.