ADUBAÇÃO FOLIAR NITROGENADA ALTERA A MASSA DE FORRAGEM DO CAPIM ZURI?

The objective of this study was to determine if nitrogen fertilization increased in forage mass of Zuri grass. Two greenhouse experiments were made in a completely randomized design with five treatments and four replications. Treatments consisted in the absence of foliar nitrogen fertilization and in four moments to perform leaf fertilization: on the day of defoliation (no expanded leaf) and with 1, 2 and 3 leaves expanded. In the first experiment the Zuri grass was fertilized via nitrogen with 100 mg dm-3 and in the second experiment there was no nitrogen fertilization. Before fertilization in the soil, leaf fertilization altered only the height, and growth rate. The later the foliar fertilization was carried out, the smaller the number of leaves and the greater the mass of each leaf, which ensured the maintenance of the forage mass. On the other hand, when Zuri grass was not fertilized with nitrogen in soil, foliar fertilization did not alter any of the evaluated variables. Thus, in the presence and absence of nitrogen fertilization in the soil, nitrogen fertilization doesn’t alter the forage mass of Zuri grass.