Biostimulant and Micronutrient Applications in the Production of Acacia mangium Seedlings

Aims: Evaluate the effects of applying biostimulant and micronutrients on Acacia mangium Willd seedlings.

Study Design: A randomized complete block design was used in a 2x5 factorial scheme, with four replications.

Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was conducted at the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, at the Chapadão do Sul Campus, MS, with the geographical coordinates 18º46’ 44” S and 52º36’ 49” W, in a nursery area from October 2015 to January 2016.

Methodology: The treatments consisted of a combination of the presence or absence of a solution containing micronutrients and five doses of biostimulant (0, 7.5, 15.0, 22.5, and 30.0 mL per L of water). The commercial product Stimulate™ was used as the biostimulant, and the micronutrient solution was prepared at the concentration of 1.0%. The micronutrients in the solution were in the following formulations: ZnS04, H3BO3 and CuS04. The seeds were sown in tubes containing the commercial substrate Carolina Soil do Brasil, together with the use of Osmocote Plus™ fertilizer.

Results: The use of biostimulant associated with micronutrients favored the rate of emergency speed. The doses of 24.8, 14.0 and 26.1 mL L-1 of biostimulant water provided the highest values for leaf area, plant height and total dry mass, respectively, when associated with the use of micronutrients. The height / diameter ratio decreased with increasing doses of biostimulant, while the Dicson quality index increased in the same condition.

Conclusion: The use of micronutrients and biostimulants were favourable for the production of A. mangium seedlings. Only the height/diameter ratio (HDR) reduced for all biostimulant doses.