Doses of zinc sulphate in the production of rootstocks of <i>Annona squamosa</i> L.

Abstract

Aiming to evaluate the influence of zinc sulphate in the nutrition and growth of Annona squamosa L. seedlings, an experiment was carried out in the seedlings production nursery at the Federal Rural University of the Semi-arid (UFERSA), located in Mossoró municipality, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil. The treatments consisted of five doses of zinc sulphate (0; 0.2; 0.4; 0.6 and 0.8 mg dm^-3) in a complete randomized block design, with four repetitions. The results indicated that, relatively moderate doses of zinc sulphate improved the evaluated characteristics, except the root length and the relation between shoot and root dry matter. For the production of vigorous door-grafts of A. squamosa, 0.25 to 0.30 mg dm^-3 of zinc sulphate should be applied to the substratum.