Response of plantain to fertilization with P, K and S during the first productive cycle.

Abstract

The objective of this

work was to evaluate the growth and yield response of the

first reproductive cycle of plantain (Musa AAB) to the application

of phosphorus, potassium and sulfur. The study was

established in La Fortuna, San Carlos, Costa Rica. The soil

where the experiments were established is an Inceptisol, formed

by volcanic materials, with medium fertility and clayloam

texture. Doses of 0, 125, 250, 375 kg/ha of K2O, 0 and

70 kg/ha of P2O5 were applied in trial 1, while in trial 2 were

applied the same levels of K2O were used, in addition to 0

and 30 kg/ha of sulfur (S). The sowing was made in April

and May of 2008 and 2009, respectively, with corms of the

cultivar Curraré “Semi Giant”, with a density of 2.380 and

2.223 plants per hectare, in each year. There was no statistical

response to K2O doses in the first harvest, but differences

were obtained in the second trial (2010) for the variables

pseudostem girth and height at four and seven months in

experiment 2, and bunch weight, length and thickness of the

middle finger of the second hand. For these three variables,

with 375 kg of K2O, the values were: 13.17 kg, 28.81 cm

and 62.62 inch treintaidosavo respectively. There was only

response to the use of P2O5 in height and girth at four months

(1.32 m 0.39 m), not so for S. The total absorption of K, P

and S at the time of harvest was 237.73, 10.83 and 7.44 kg/

ha, respectively.