Estimation of factors related to the fertilization of banana plants selected in a fractional factorial scheme

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to (i) use a combination of a definitive screening design (DSD) and a complete 33 factorial design to estimate the effects of four fertilizer supplements (factors) screened in the 1st planting cycle of Prata Gorutuba banana trees and (ii) determine whether combinations of these four factors can be identified for a future test. A DSD was combined with a complete 33 factorial scheme composed of three factors with three levels (application doses) each and three extra repetitions of the central level (commercial dose), totaling 30 experimental plots (27 + 3). The experimental area was divided into six blocks in a randomized block design (RBD) with 5 experimental plots each. The four selected factors included three soil conditioning products and a biostimulant based on seaweed extract. Experimental efficiency was maintained by performing a single trial with only 35.71% of the number of total plots used in the previous screening experiment. The results corroborated the main hypothesis of the study, i.e., that the most important factors previously screened in a previous trial could be maintained with three dose levels without altering the cultivation performance.