Faixas críticas de teores foliares de macronutrientes em mudas de cafeeiro (Coffea arabica L.) produzidas em tubetes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determinate the macronutrient content in leaves of coffee seedlings grown in plastic pots. The experiment was carried out at a greenhouse located in the coffee research area at the Agronomy Department of Lavras Federal University from May 2003 to January 2004. We used a block design in a sample factorial 6 x 3 with four blocks, where the substrate was treated with six levels of fertilization (50, 75, 100, 125, 150, and 200% of standard fertilization with Osmocote for m3 substrate) and the evaluations were performed at three stages of development (sampling times): three, four, and five pairs of leaves. The following characteristics were evaluated: plant height (cm), stem diameter (mm), leaf area (cm2), root dry weight (g), stem dry weight (g), leaf dry weight (g), total dry weight (g), and leaf analysis for the following nutrients: N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S. The critical ranges obtained for macronutrients were: nitrogen (2.26 to 2.62 dag/Kg); phosphorus (0.22 to 0.25 dag/Kg); potassium (2.59 to 2.92 dag/Kg); calcium (0.69 to 0.76 dag/Kg); magnesium (0.11 to 0.12 dag/Kg); sulfur (0.15 to 0.24 dag/Kg). It was confirmed that the four true pair of leaves were the ideal for leaf sampling aiming at the identification of the mactonutrient contents.