Wood ash effect on the productive characteristics of Marandu grass in Cerrado soils

The nutrient dynamics in soils are directly influenced by fertilizer application. Wood ash is an alternative fertilizer and soil corrective that provides enhanced fertility and increased crop production. This study aimed to evaluate the productive characteristics of Marandu grass and the functions of levels of plant ash in two Cerrado soils. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse with a completely randomized design in a factorial 2 × 6 plot: two soils (oxisol and ultisol) and six doses of wood ash (0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 g dm-3) were tested in six replicates. The soil samples were collected in areas: the Cerrado, and wood ash from the ceramics industry was used as a fertilizer. Each experimental unit consisted of a plastic pot with up to 5 dm3 of soil and 5 plants of Brachiaria brizantha Marandu grass. Three cuts were made in the shoots at 30 days intervals to evaluate the productive characteristics, such as the number of leaves, number of tillers, and dry mass of shoot and root. The wood ash fertilizer influenced the production Marandu grass in the two Cerrado soils (ultisol and oxisol) and provided the maximum mass production of shoots (third cut), number of leaves (first and second cuts), number of tillers (first cut) and root mass (third cut) in typic oxisol.   Key words: Brachiaria brizantha, oxisol, ultisol.