Humic Substances on Soybeans Grown Under Water Stress

Hypothetically, humic substances (HSs) can improve the response of plants in sandy soils. The objective was to assess the effect of applying an organomineral fertilizer enriched with HSs on soybean plants grown with and without water stress. The experimental design was entirely randomized, in a greenhouse, in a 2 x 5 factorial setup (two moisture levels and five fertilizer doses: 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8mL dm(-3)), for a total of 10 treatments, with eight repetitions, using as substrate a Psamment. The organomineral fertilizer was applied in the soil 21 days after plant emergence, and the water regimes were established 1 week thereafter. Plant height, shoot and root dry mass, mineral nutrition, and grain yield were evaluated. There was a positive response to the doses, with the most efficient one under water stress being 6.5 mL dm(-3) and HSs favored the uptake of micronutrients.