Desenvolvimento morfológico do capim-mombaça (panicum maximum cv mombaça) em diferentes doses de adubação nitrogenada

Abstract

Beef cattle farming has proven to be an activity with high financial returns. The main food source in cattle farming is forage plants, especially when the animals are raised on pastures, as is the case in the Piauí savannah, which has two distinct climate periods: rainy and dry. One of the forage plants that stands out positively is Mombaça grass (Panicum maximum cv Mombaça), which is highly adaptable to different climate conditions. In order for the grass to reach its maximum productive potential, good fertilization management is necessary. Fertilization of Mombaça grass brings great results, especially nitrogen fertilization, resulting in an increase in the production of green mass of the plant per hectare, consequently leading to greater animal performance. An evaluative study on the fertilization management of Mombaça grass is extremely important, since information related to this topic is scarce. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the morphological and structural development of Mombaça grass cultivated in the southern region of Piauí, with different doses of urea. The experiment was conducted at the Olho d'água Pequeno Farm, located 45 km from the center of the municipality of Uruçuí. The treatments consisted of four doses of urea (T0: 0 kg, T1: 40 kg, T2: 80 kg, T3: 120 kg/ha) as a source of nitrogen fertilizer. The design used was randomized blocks, with four replications. The morphological characteristics were evaluated every fifteen days, totaling five evaluations, observing the following variables: (TApF, in cm/day), (TAlF, in cm/day), survival rate and mortality rate, resulting in a positive potential in the use of urea as a source of nitrogen and consequently a forage with greater nutritional potential for animals in the Cerrado region of Piauí.