NK FERTILIZATION IN ‘BRS IMPERIAL’ PINEAPPLE - II – VARIABLE OF PLANT PRODUCTION

The 'BRS Imperial' pineapple is a resistant cultivar to Fusarium and it presents tasty fruit, but it is still little known by farmers. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of N and K fertilization on chemical soil characteristics, leaves nutrient contents and yield of 'BRS Imperial' plants. The experiment was installed at a 0.90 x 0.40 x 0.40 m spacing and four doses of N (0, 160, 320, 550 kg ha(-1)) and K2O (0, 240, 480 and 600 kg ha(-1)) were tested in a completely randomized blocks design with five replicates, in a 4 x 4 complete factorial scheme. Chemical analyzes were made of leaves and soil and measured the production variables. The cultivation of pineapple in a complete absence of N and K fertilization resulted in lower pH, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ levels of soil in relation to the initial content. Even at the highest dose of K2O, the K level in the soil was low after the pineapple cultivation. The maximum N and K foliar content, estimated on the higher doses, were 13 g kg(-1) and 32 g kg(-1), respectively. Crop variables showed significance for N levels in all evaluations, while the rates of K2O influenced only the length/diameter fruit relation. In a quadratic regression, N doses showed 1,086 g on fruit weight with crown at 365 kg ha(-1) of N and a yield of 42 t ha(-1).