Carbonate-silicate ratio for soil correction and influence on nutrition, biomass production and quality of palisade grass

Silicates can be used as soil correctives, with the advantage of being a source of silicon, a beneficial element to the grasses. However, high concentrations of silicon in the plant would affect the digestibility of the forage. To evaluate the influence of the substitution of the calcium carbonate b...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Souza, Renato Ferreira de, Ávila, Fabrício William, Faquin, Valdemar, Pozza, Adélia Aziz Alexandre, Carvalho, Janice Guedes, Evangelista, Antônio Ricardo
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2011
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA)
Repository:Repositório Institucional da UFLA
Language:Portuguese
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.ufla.br:1/3662
Online Access:https://repositorio.ufla.br/handle/1/3662
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Urochloa brizantha
Pasture
Lime
Silicon
Feed value
Description
Summary:Silicates can be used as soil correctives, with the advantage of being a source of silicon, a beneficial element to the grasses. However, high concentrations of silicon in the plant would affect the digestibility of the forage. To evaluate the influence of the substitution of the calcium carbonate by calcium silicate on the nutrition, biomass production and the feed quality of the palisade grass [Urochloa brizantha (C. Hochstetter ex A. Rich.) R. Webster], three greenhouse experiments were conducted in completely randomized designs with four replications. Experimental units (pots) contained a clayey dystrophic Rhodic Haplustox, a sandy clay loam dystrophic Typic Haplustox and a sandy loam dystrophic Typic Haplustox. Each soil received substitution proportions (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 %) of the carbonate by calcium silicate. The increase in the proportion of calcium silicate elevated the concentrations and accumulations of Si, Ca, Mg, and B, reduced Zn and did not alter P in the shoot of plants. The effects of the treatments on the other nutrients were influenced by the soil type. Inclusion of calcium silicate also increased the relative nutritional value and the digestibility and ingestion of the forage, while the concentration and accumulation of crude protein and the neutral detergent and acid detergent fibers decreased. Biomass production and feed quality of the palisade grass were generally higher with the 50 % calcium silicate treatment.