Shading and slow release fertilizer effects on the growth characteristics of assai seedlings (Euterpe oleracea).

The objective of this work was to evaluate the initial growth of assai seedlings (Euterpe oleraceae) in response to shading and slow release fertilizer. The experiment was conducted at Embrapa Acre in a randomized block design using a 4 × 5 factorial scheme with three replicates and 10 plants per plot. The treatments consisted of four shade environments (20%, 30%, 50% and 75%) and five levels of slow release fertilizer (0.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 kg m-3). The following characteristics were evaluated: plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, leaf dry mass, stem dry mass, root dry mass, total dry mass, and seedlings quality index. The growth of assai seedlings was influenced by shade environment conditions and slow release fertilizer. Shade environment with 30% or 50% and a dose of 8 kg m?3 resulted in better quality seedlings