This experiment was carried out to evaluate the influence of different fertilization and cutting intensity combinations on morphogenic and productive characteristics of Panicum maximum Jaccq., cv. Tanzania in pots. Leaf appearance rate (LAR) and phyllochron were not influenced by cutting intensities. Plants fertilized with N, however, produced greater LAR and phyllochron, with 0.21, 0.20, and 0.19 leaf/day and 4.67, 5.03, and 5.43 day/leaf for N and K (NK), N and P (NP), and N, P and K (NPK) combinations, respectively. There was a significant interaction between fertilization and cutting intensity for leaf elongation rate, leaf final length, and pseudostem length, with higher elongation and lengths observed in fertilizer combinations that contained nitrogen. Only fertilization influenced the number of green leaves, senescent leaves, and dead leaves; nitrogen fertilizer combinations provided greater increase when compared to treatments without potassium e phosphorus (KP) fertilization. Tiller number was only influenced by fertilization, with greater response observed for N+P combination compared to other treatments. All the studied variables were influenced by fertilizer combinations that contained nitrogen, corroborating the relevance of N fertilization to forage biomass accumulation.
cutting height; fertilizer; morphogenesis; Panicum maximum
