Pó de basalto como fertilizante para a cultura do trigo

Abstract

Due to the magnitude of its agricultural production, growing national and international demand, and the characteristics of low natural fertility of soils, Brazil has become a major consumer of imported fertilizers, since the national sources are scarce and of low solubility. To reduce this dependence, which weighs on producers and on the country's trade balance, national agricultural research is developing and encouraging the use of alternative sources of nutrients, such as the use of rocks such as basalt powder. Despite the increased use of ground rock in agriculture, scientifically based studies have evaluated the effect of these on the development of cultivated plants. This study evaluated the effects of basalt powder on yield, the weight of a thousand grains and the hectoliter weight of wheat. The study consisted of a field study conducted in the Southwest Region of Paraná, composed of 4 different doses of basalt powder (control, 1.1 kg ha-1, 3.3 kg ha-1 and 5.5 kg ha -1) with six replicates. None of the analyzed variables showed a significant effect of the applied treatments, which evidenced that the results with the use of the basalt powder in the wheat in this study did not allow its wide recommendation due to its slow and complex solubility in the soil and to its relatively high economic value. In addition, there is not a high shortterm demand for annual crops such as wheat.