CONTROLLED-RELEASE FERTILIZER IN PAPAYA SEEDLINGS PRODUCTION

The objective of this work was to define the appropriate doses of a controlled-release fertilizer in the production of papaya seedlings, in the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. The research was realized in a greenhouse in Caliman Agricola Company, Linhares- ES, Brazil. The experimental design was a randomized complete block in a factorial scheme 5x6. It was evaluated five papaya genotypes 'Golden', 'Calimosa', 'Tainung 01', 'INCAPER 09' and 'INCAPER 39', cultivated in commercial substrate (constituted of pinus bark and vermiculite) fertilized with six doses of controlled-release fertilizer formula NPK + (Mg) 13-06-16 + (1.4): 0.0; 2.5; 5.0; 7.5; 10.0 and 12.5 kg m(-3). Differences in growth and nutritional status of papaya seedlings were observed according to the genotype and the dose of the controlled-release fertilizer used. The highest values for height and total dry matter of papaya seedlings occurred with the doses: 11.2 and 11.3 kg m(-3) for 'Golden'; 7.7 and 7.9 kg m(-3) for 'Calimosa'; 11.6 and 10.9 kg m(-3) for 'Tainung 01'; 10.5 and 10.6 kg m(-3) for 'INCAPER 09' and 11.0 and 9.6 kg m(-3) for 'INCAPER 39', respectively. In the same doses the papaya seedlings showed adequate levels of nutrients.