Search

ABSTRACT The use of growth regulators as a technique that can reduce plant height and thus strengthen stalks, which may be an option to eliminate or reduce plant lodging, thereby avoiding crop loss. However, there is a lack of information on the subject. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the dose (0; 37.5; 75.0; 112.5 e 150.0 g ha-1 active ingredient) and the application times of trinexapac-ethyl (sixth, seventh and eighth leaves), in a randomized complete block, in a 5x3 factorial scheme, with four replicates. The field experiment was performed during the 2016/17 crop season, in the experimental farm located in Selvíria, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil, at Universidade Estadual Paulista- UNESP, Ilha Solteira, São Paulo State, Brazil - Campus. It is not recommended to apply the trinexapac-ethyl at eighth leaf, especially in the doses of 75.0; 112.5 and 150.0 g ha-1, since they generated the lowest values for yield parameters, thus reducing productivity, and providing greater number of unfilled grains. Taking into account the reduction in plant height, the minimization of lodging and grain yield, trinexapac-ethyl should be applied to the seventh leaf of the BRS Esmeralda rice at the dose of 75 g ha-1.

Azospirillum brasilense plays an important role in biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in grasses. However, further studies are needed to define how much mineral N can be applied while simultaneously maintaining BNF contribution and maximizing crop yield and to determine the impact of these practices on soil fertility. Thus, we aimed to investigate the effect of inoculation with A. brasilense, in conjunction with varying N doses and sources in a Cerrado soil, on soil chemical attributes after two years of irrigated wheat production. The experiment was initiated in Selvíria - MS under no-tillage production in an Oxisol in 2014 and 2015. The experimental design was a randomized block design with four replications, and treatments were arranged in a 2 x 5 x 2 factorial arrangement as follows: two N sources (urea and Super N - urea with inhibitor of the enzyme urease NBPT (N - (n-butyl thiophosphoric triamide))), five N rates (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha-1), and with or without seed inoculation with A. brasilense. The increase in N rates did not influence the chemical soil attributes. Super N acidified the soil more compared to urea. A. brasilense inoculation reduced the effect of soil acidification in intensive irrigated wheat cultivation; however, the base extraction was higher, resulting in a lower soil CEC after cultivation with inoculation. Therefore, the cultivation of wheat inoculated with A. brasilense was not harmful to soil fertility because it did not reduce the base saturation and organic matter content (P, K, Ca, Mg, and S).