This experiment was carried out to evaluate the forms of phosphorus application, soil sampling and row spacing on critical levels of phosphorus in the soil and shoot for the establishment of elephant grass cv. Napier. The treatments were arranged in three randomized blocks and consisted of five phosphorus levels (0, 1, 2, 3.3 and 5) corresponding, respectively, to 0, 30, 60, 100 and 150 kg/ha P for application on the bottom of the furrow and to 0, 60, 120, 200 and 300 kg/ha P thoroughly mixed in the furrow, two types of application (localized and distributed in the furrow) and two spacings (0.5 and 1.0 m). The phosphorus content were quantified in soil samples removed at 0-20 cm depth on the rows of the newly cut rows and between the planted rows. In the forage samples harvested in two cuttings, the phosphorus concentration and dry matter production were determined. Dry matter yield in the wider spacing was considerably lower than in the 0.5 m spacing between plating rows. In the wider spacing, greater critical levels were observed in both the soil and the plants. The phosphorus applied in the furrow resulted in greater values of the critical level in the soil, while the opposite was observed in the shoots. Critical phosphorus levels in the shoot of the plants decreased from the first to the second cutting, regardless of the application, whereas in the soil this occurred only when phosphorus was applied on the bottom of the furrow.
dry matter; forage; phosphorus application form; spacing
