Nutrient management affects growth and quality of Berberis laurina seedlings, a medicinal species from South America

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to evaluate growth and quality of Berberis laurina seedlings submitted to increasing doses of controlled-release fertilizer (CRF). Each treatment was elaborated with different doses of CRF Basacote ® Plus 9M: 0.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, and 12.5 kg m -3 . Seedlings were measured at 15, 30, 60, 90, and 150 days in height and stem diameter. At 150 days, we evaluated aerial dry biomass, root dry biomass, height/ diameter ratio, and Dickson quality index. Plants without CRF did not show significant growth in height even after 150 days and treatments with 7.5, 10.0, and 12.5 kg m -3 CRF provided the best results. At dose 12.5 kg m -3 , there was a tendency to decrease height and diameter curves, indicating toxic amounts of FLC to plants growth in nursery. Considering better use of resources, we recommend 7.5 kg m -3 of CRF for the production of B. laurina seedlings.