Abstract
The structural characteristics of tillers with different ages of deferred and fertilized marandu palisade grass (Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu) were evaluated. Two doses of nitrogen (low, 50 kg ha-1 and high, 200 kg ha-1), three age categories of tillers (young, <2 months, mature, 2 to 4 months, and old,> 4 months), and to two periods (beginning, 1 to 45 days and end, 46 to 90) during deferral were evaluated. The experimental design was completely randomized, in a subsubdivide plot scheme, with four replications. In general, young tiller had a better morphological composition (40.0% live leaf, P=0.0074; 39.2% live stem, P=0.0208; and 20.8% dead leaf blade, P=0.0155), while the old tiller had a worse morphology (7.3% live leaf, 54.8% live stem and 38.0% leaf dead) at the end of the deferral period. The percentage of old tillers was higher (P=0.0019) at the end (54.0%) than at the beginning (43.4%) of the deferment period. At the beginning of the deferment the canopy fertilized with high dose of N presented (P=0.0447) a higher percentage of young tiller (36.8%) than that under low N dose (28.6%). At the end of the deferment period, both the high and the low nitrogen doses resulted (P=0.0276) in similar values of young tiller in the deferred canopy (24.3%, on average). The higher N dose, plotted before the deferral period, increases the percentage of young tiller during the initial phase of deferment. Young tiller has better structural characteristics than mature and old tiller.
Keywords:
leaf area; morphological composition; tiller number; Urochloa brizantha
