Response of corn to phosphorus and zinc fertilization

Abstract

With the objective of evaluating the effects of phosphorus (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha^-1 of P₂O₅) and zinc (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 kg ha^-1 of Zn) fertilization in the maize crop, a field experiment was conducted on a Haplustox soil with 5 mg dm³ of P and 0.39 mg dm^-3 of Zn (DTPA). From the results, it was observed that the fertilization with P and Zn resulted in significant increments of corn grain yield. The effect of P fertilization was higher than the fertilization with Zn. It was possible to obtain a production of grain up to 6,000 kg ha^-1 with P alone; higher yield than it was achieved only with both P and Zn fertilization. The maximum corn grain yield was associated with P contents in soil about 30 mg dm^-3. Phosphorus did not alter the contents of Zn in the leaves.