Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and doses of phosphorus on corn crop

Resumen

Phosphorus is the most limiting nutrient for crop production in Cerrado soils. The arbuscular mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association with the roots, which involves the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and promotes benefits to the plants, as an enhanced capacity of absorbing nutrients from the soil, mainly phosphorus. This study was performed in a greenhouse at Embrapa Cerrados, Planaltina-DF, Brazil, and aimed to evaluate the influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and phosphorus doses in the yield of dry matter and in levels of phosphorus in the shoots of corn. A completely randomized experimental design with five treatments (doses of phosphorus and inoculation) and three repetitions was used. There were significant responses to the treatments with different doses of phosphorus. The inoculated treatment didn’t differ significantly from the non-inoculated treatment with the same dose of the nutrient and from the treatment with application of 100 mg kg^-1 of P. The treatment with mycorrhizae showed the higher levels of phosphorus in the leaves. The results showed an interaction between P and Mg, K and Mn, being the first a synergistic interaction and the two other, antagonistic. The phosphorus fertilization and the mycorrhizal inoculation provide increments in the level of phos­phorus in the shoots.