Steel slag and phosphate nutrition of corn inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the use of steel slag as a soil acidity corrective and of mycorrhizal fungi associated with phosphate fertilization on corn plants. The study was performed in a greenhouse, using 3-kg pots with a Typic Haplorthox, in a 4x5x2 factorial arrangement, with four acidity correction treatments (C1, correction with dolomitic limestone at a dose of 4 Mg ha^-1; C2, correction with steel slag at a dose of 4 Mg ha^-1; C3, correction with a 1:1 mixture of 2 Mg ha^-1 dolomitic limestone and 2 Mg ha^-1 steel slag; and C4, control, without pH correction), five phosphorus doses (0, 42, 95, 213, and 480 mg dm^-3), and the presence or absence of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Rhizophagus clarus and Gigaspora margarita), with five replicates. Steel slag was efficient in correcting soil pH and providing Ca and Mg for the plants; therefore, it could replace limestone. The inoculation with R. clarus and G. margarita, associated with P doses of 42, 95, and 213 mg dm^-3, improved the development of corn plants after 45 days, resulting in greater plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, and shoot and root dry matter.