Corn cultivation and availability of phosphorus under fertilization with chicken manure

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of rates and incubation periods of poultry manure in the initial development of corn and the availability of phosphorus in the soil. The experiment was carried out in greenhouse, at FESURV - Rio Verde University, from November/2007 to January/2008. The experimental design was set as completely randomized-block design in a factorial with one additional treatment, 5 x 4 + 1 with four replications, consisted of five rates of poultry manure (4; 7; 14; 21 and 28 Mg ha(-1)), incubation periods of the residue in soil (0, 7, 15 and 30 days before the seedling) and one additional treatment (mineral fertilizer). Before and 45 days after the planting the soil of all plots were sampled and the content of phosphorus availability (Mehlich-1) was determine and at 45 days after the planting, the height of the plants, yields of leaves and dry matter of stalks were evaluated. The doses of poultry manure were superior than mineral fertilizer in all evaluated characteristics. The greatest height of the plants, yields of leaves and dry matter of stalks and contents of P in the soil were obtained using 21 Mg ha-1 of poultry manure and 30 days of incubation.