Growth and development of ‘Taquara’ bamboo irrigated and fertilized with potassium and zinc

Abstract

The Americas detain 30% of the total bamboo species, and Brazil is the country holding the greatest diversity. However, characterization and evaluation studies of bamboo species fertilized with potassium and zinc are scarce. The goals of this work were to evaluate growth and development of ‘Taquara’ bamboo plants (Bambusa tuldoides) irrigated and fertilized with potassium and zinc. The experimental design was randomized block, in a split-split-plot arrangement (2 × 2 × 4) with three replications, with two potassium rates in the plots (0 and 80 kg ha^-1), two zinc rates in the subplots (0 and 5 kg ha^-1), and four evaluation times in the sub-subplots (60, 90, 120, and 150 days after sprouting). Morphological characteristics: plant height, stem diameter, internal stem diameter, stem circumference area, number of internodes, and internode length-were evaluated monthly. Plant height and internode length were measured using a measuring tape; and stem diameter was measured in the middle third of the plant using a caliper ruler. The fertilization with potassium and zinc rates influences the growth and development of ‘Taquara’ bamboo plants (B. tuldoides), promoting increases in most of the analyzed variables.