Manejo nutricional no crescimento e qualidade de mudas de Berberis laurina, espécie medicinal da América do Sul

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.