Monitoramento do vigor de cafeeiros submetidos a estratégias de manejo para atenuar os efeitos da escassez hídrica

Abstract

Currently, one of the great problems faced in coffee crops is water stress. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate with a hand sensor, the coffee vigor of trees cultivated under different water-stress reducing management techniques. The experiment was conducted in the field at the Federal University of Lavras - UFLA, Lavras-MG, from November 2017 to October 2018. The studied factors were arranged in a 3x4 factorial scheme, totaling 12 treatments. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Three soil managements displayed in strips (polyethylene plastic, brachiaria and natural vegetation) and three soil conditioners (coffee husk, agricultural gypsum and organic compound) were used in the study; a control treatment was also included. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), plant growth, soil moisture, production, physiological characteristics, leaf nutrient contents and soil chemical attributes were evaluated. NDVI average temporal series was used to analyze the data. Once the analysis of variance was performed, the means were compared by the Scott-Knot test, and later the multivariate analysis of the data was applied. Furthermore, Pearson correlation with NDVI for growth, productivity, leaf nutrient contents (N and Mg) and soil attributes (Mg and OM) variables were employed. NDVI measured with Greenseeker hand sensor can be used as a technology to predict plant vigor in a non-destructive, fast and precise manner. Brachiaria management is recommended as soil cover both in the rainy and in the dry period. Among the soil conditioners, coffee husk and organic compound showed good results on reducing the effects of water stress, mainly those observed in the dry period.