Liming and Phosphating on growth, nutritional status and mycorrhizal colonization of yellow strawberry guava

ABSTRACT: Strawberry guava (Psidium cattleyanumm Sabine) is a species native to southern Brazil which exhibits significant potential for economic exploitation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth response of strawberry guava subjected to liming and phosphate fertilizer in pre-planting. The treatments consisted of four lime levels: 0; 33.3; 66.6 and 100 % of the dose needed to increase the pH in water to 6.0, and four phosphorus (P) doses: 0; 83.3; 166.6 and 250 kg ha–1 of P2O5. Plant growth parameters were evaluated for three years. In the years 2018 and 2019, the mineral composition of leaves, photosynthethic pigment indices and mycorrhizal colonization on strawberry guava roots were measured. Liming and phosphate fertilizer altered neither plant growth nor the photosynthetic pigment indices and there was no interaction between the factors studied and the remaining variables evaluated. However, liming promoted increases in the Ca and Mg shoot content, and the phosphate fertilizer increased the levels of shoot P in the third year of growth. Mycorrhizal colonization was stronger when the P soil levels were low, which could explain the absence of response to phosphate fertilization on plant growth for the first three years after planting.