Behavior of tropical forage legumes under different fertilization in Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil

Abstract

This study evaluated the yield of twelve forage legumes, with and without phosphorus fertilization. The selected species were planted in 6m x 3m plots, with a spacing of 0.60 m between lines. The experimental design was in randomized blocks divided in sub-plots with three replications. Species were the main plots and fertilization levels (0 and 60 kg of P2O5) were the sub-plots. The species Macroptilium sp CPATSA 80218 (BRA-004537) and Indigofera sp CPATSA 7620 (BRA-000701) showed the best results during the 3-year study, producing averages of 5,430 and 4,862; 3,972 and 3,736 kg of dry matter/ha/year with and without phosphorus fertilization, respectively. Although the phosphorus level in the soil was low, the species tested showed a low (9%) response to phosphorus fertilization.