Effect to molybdenum in the common winter bean (Phaseolus vulgaris l.): Foliar fertilization and enriched seeds

Abstract

Molybdenum (Mo) has a fundamental role in increasing bean productivity by potentiating the biological fixation of nitrogen. In this sense, the objective was to evaluate the nutritional quality cv. Madrepérola, with variations in the levels of molybdenum in the seeds and under foliar application of this micronutrient. For the production of seeds, the “mother plant” was fertilized with sodium molybdate in the dose of 0; 300 and 600 g ha–1. With the seeds, an experiment was installed in randomized blocks, with four repetitions, in a factorial scheme: three levels of molybdenum in the seeds and two doses of molybdenum via foliar. The contents of Co, Fe, K, Mo, N and Zn in the leaves and grains were evaluated. The foliar application of molybdenum increases the levels of iron and molybdenum in the leaves and seeds and zinc in the leaves. The seeds enriched with Mo improves the nutrition of the plant (increases of 8.98 and 7.42 g kg–1 of nitrogen in the grains of plants from seeds with low and medium molybdenum content, respectively: 8.34 mg dm–3 Zn in the leaves of plants from seeds with a medium content of molybdenum).