Brachiaria humidicola seed production. Harvest time and nitrogen fertilization

Authors

  • Nilza Rocha Mecelis Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária
  • Eliana Aparecida Schammass Instituto de Zootecnia, Divisão Técnica Básica e Auxiliar, Seção de Estatística e Técnica Experimental, Nova Odessa, SP

Abstract

An experiment was carried out during three consecutive years at Instituto de Zootecnia, in Nova Odessa, State of So Paulo, Brasil, in order to study the effects of N rates and harvest times on the pure seed yield of Brachiaria humidicola. Three N rates (0, 75 and 150 kg N.ha-1) and ten harvest times were the treatment combinations. Those treatments were arranged in randomized block with three replications, in a split-plot design. Nitrogen rates were the plots and the harvest times the subplots. The first harvest was setat 14 days after the initial flowering date (IF). The other harvests were performed weekly. Seed yield at the first and after the fifth haverstings (14 and 42 days after IF) were very low. The highest seed yields were obtained at 21 and 28 days after IF, which showed that flowering and seed ripening occur, in this species, in a shorter period than in the other tropical grasses. The effect of N rates on seed yield was not significant in the first year, but the highest seed yields were obtained at 97 and 110 kg N.ha-1 in the second and third years, respectively. The 150 kg.ha-1 treatment had taller plants than the other N rates and lodged after flowering.

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Published

2014-01-29

Issue

Section

FORAGE CROPS AND PASTURES

How to Cite

Brachiaria humidicola seed production. Harvest time and nitrogen fertilization. (2014). Bulletin of Animal Husbandry, 45(2), 359-370. http://bia.iz.sp.gov.br/index.php/bia/article/view/689

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