TITLE:
Biometry and Water Consumption of Sunflower as Affected by NPK Fertilizer and Available Soil Water Content under Semiarid Brazilian Conditions
AUTHORS:
Lúcia Helena Garófalo Chaves, Hugo Orlando Carvallo Guerra, Vinícius Batista Campos, Walter Esfrain Pereira, Pedro Henrique Pinto Ribeiro
KEYWORDS:
Helianthus annuus L., Mineral Nutrition, Water Management
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.5 No.8,
July
18,
2014
ABSTRACT: The present study
evaluated the effect of NPK fertilization and available soil water levels on
the biometric response and water use of sunflower cv. Embrapa 122-V2000. The
experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Engineering Department of the
Federal University of Campina Grande, Paraiba State, Brazil, during 2009 and
2010, in a semi-controlled greenhouse using the Eutrofic Regosol. The
treatments were defined according to a Baconian matrix, with eleven doses of
the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and four available soil water levels.
The experiment was arranged in a complete randomized design, with three
replicates, in a total of 132 sample units. No effect of N and K was observed
on plant height. However, it increased significantly with P levels. The stem
diameter and the leaf area were affected by the N and K and not by the P. The
number of leaves increased significantly with the amount of N, P and K
fertilizer. Available soil water content increased significantly in all the
variables studied. The best sunflower performance and water consumption were
obtained with the 100:120:120 kg·ha-1 NPK and 100% of the available
soil water content treatment.