Spatial variability of chemical attributes of the soil, plant and yield in a pear orchard

ABSTRACT

For fruiting trees, fertilization is usually recommended based on the analyses of soil and leaves, adopting a standard value for the whole orchard. This management can lead to undesirable imbalances to the plants and local agroecosystem. Thus, this trial aimed at mapping the spatial variability of properties of soil, plant and yield in a commercial area of pears production and investigating the yield response to a distinguished fertilization. The trial was carried out in Nova Laranjeiras, Paraná, where 36 trees were selected to receive conventional fertilization (CF) and other 36 trees received a site-specific fertilization (SSF). All variables (chemical and physical attributes of soil, leaf tissue, and yield) showed some spatial dependence. For all years, yield variability was considered very high. The yield of SSF system was slightly higher (2,625 kg ha⁻¹) and took up a larger area (59%) when compared to SF system (2,548 kg ha⁻¹ at 41% area).

KEYWORDS:

• precision horticulture
• localized fertilization
• thematic maps

Funding

The authors thank the support provided by the State University of Western Paraná (Unioeste), the Araucária Foundation (Fundação Araucária), the General Office of State of Science, Technology and Higher Education - SETI/PR, the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Level Personnel (CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico), and the Government of the State of Paraná.