<em>Brachiaria brizantha </em>seedlings emergence affected by seed scarification, fertilization and sowing depth

Abstract

Integrating plant cultivation and animal husbandry systems views the introduction of new technologies to the production system as well as the recovery of degraded soils. The intercropping of grains with Brachiaria species, whereby the forage seeds are mixed with the mineral fertilizer and thus deposited on the bottom of the sowing row, is a current practice. The aim of this work was to evaluate the emer­gence capacity and the phytomass yield of B. brizantha cv. Marandu seedlings as affected by seed scarification, fertilizer application and sowing depth. Seeds either mechanically scarified or not were sown in soil columns to which a fertilizer was applied or not ( a dose equivalent to 300 kg ha^-1 of the NPK formula 08-28-16) at the depths of 0.0, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 cm. The experiment setup obeyed a randomized complete block design, with four repetitions, in a factorial arrangement of 2x2x4. The sowing depth of 2.5 cm yielded the best results. Sowing depths superior to 5 cm yielded the worst results. Direct contact between the seeds and the fertilizer was prejudicial to the initial development of the forage plants at any sowing depth. Seed scarification did not help when the sowing depth was between superficial and 2.5 cm but improved seedling emergence when the sowing depth was of 5 cm.

Additional keywords: crop - livestock integration; forage crop; pasture.