INFLUENCE OF Rhizophagus intraradices Walker Schussler NO RENDIMENTO DE MILHO

In order to identify the influence of Rhizophagus intraradices in yield, content of N and P in vegetable tissue and corn H-560 grain in interaction with different rates of fertilization, the present was established in a medium fertility soil with sandy-loam texture. Five treatments were: control, R. intraradices, [120.sub.N]-[60.sub.P], R. intraradices + [120.sub.N]-[60.sub.P], R. intraradices + [80.sub.N]-[40.sub.P] and R. intraradices + [40.sub.N]-[40.sub.P], in randomized block design with four repetitions. R. intraradices was adhered to the seed with carboxymethyl cellulose at a concentration of 40 spores/g of soil and 95% of colonization in the host plant. Nitrogen was applied (50%) at sowing and the rest twenty days later, and the phosphorus all at sowing. The experimental unit consisted of six rows of 0.90m wide and 5m long. Irrigation by gravity was performed every ten days, during the winter 2014. Morphological and physiological variables of yield were determined: percentage of radical colonization every 14 days and content of N and P at 42 days in flag leaf and grain to harvest. The results indicate that R. intraradices colonizes widely the root system of the corn from the initial stages of its development and promotes greater growth and performance in interaction with the chemical fertilization, allowing, in addition, to diminish the latter without detriment of the yield. The symbiosis between R. intraradices and corn increased the concentration of N and P in plant tissue and grain.