Establishment of mombasa grass fertilized with phosphorus and organic compost sources

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of phosphorus sources in the absence and presence of earthworm humus on tillering, forage production and P accumulation of Panicum maximum cv. grass Mombasa. The experiment was conducted in 5 dm³ pots in a greenhouse located at the University of Mato Grosso, Alta Floresta - MT, Brazil. The treatments were arranged in a 4x2 + 1 with four replications, four P sources: simple superphosphate (SS) (18% soluble P2O5), Bayovar rock phosphate (BRP) (14% soluble P2O5), Top- Phos 280 HP (TP) (28% soluble P2O5) and bone meal (BM) (9.6% soluble P2O5), in the absence and presence of earthworm humus, and the control treatment (no P). At 46 days after emergence (DAE) the number of tillers were counted and at 46, 65 and 80 DAE cuts were made to evaluate the accumulation of dry matter and P accumulation. Application of the phosphorus sources, simple superphosphate and bone meal associated with earthworm humus resulted in higher dry matter accumulation of Mombasa grass and higher total phosphorus accumulation in the three cuts, in relation to isolated application of these phosphorus sources. The presence of humus did not influence tillering of the grass however more soluble sources promoted greater tillering.