Nutritional diagnosis and spatial variability of leaf nutrients in teak field in the Eastern Amazon

Abstract

The objective of this work was to perform the nutritional diagnosis on teak using the compositional nutrient diagnosis (CND) and spatial variability. The methods were applied to 155 georeferenced points in a commercial teak plot seven years after planting located in the city of Capitão Poço, state of Pará, Brazil. This work analyzed leaf N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, B as well as the diameter at breast height (DBH) and total height. Values of the nutrient were also compared with reference values previously established for the teak. The frequency order of elements regarding deficiency for CND was K > S > B > P > N > Mg > Ca, while the reference values showed K > S > N > P > B > Ca > Mg. The CND showed that around 60 sample points were deficient in K and S, while the reference showed 155 points with a deficiency class for both nutrients. Spatial dependence allowed to elaborate variability maps except for the S, which showed nugget effect. The maps visually related the areas with more P (over 1.6 g kg⁻¹), B (over 19.62 mg Kg⁻¹) and particularly, leaf N (over 19.7 g kg⁻¹) to the highest DBH and total height. Nutritional diagnoses overlapped in pointing out K and S as the elements with the highest frequency of deficiency and the variability maps were accurate in showing the need to adjust nutritional levels for the teak development, with emphasis on the N, P and B.

Keywords:

• CND
• geostatistic
• leaf nutrition

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors are thankful to Tietê Agricola LTDA, particularly to its president Luiz Gonzaga de Oliveira Filho and CAPES for financing this study.