Abstract
The mineral nutrient ratios are parameters for evaluating the crop nutritional balance through foliar analysis. This study aimed to verify the correlations between the main mineral nutrient ratios in leaves and the cacao productivity of 48 cropping areas. The chemical analyses were carried out to determine foliar N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn nutrient concentrations. The Zn/Cu and the Ca/Mg ratios showed a positive nutritional relation with cacao productivity. The ratios with Cu as denominator – Mn/Cu, Ca/Cu, Mg/Cu, P/Cu, N/Cu and K/Cu – also showed a positive nutritional relation with cacao productivity. The P/Zn and N/Zn nutrient ratios showed a negative nutritional relation with the cacao productivity.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to M. Libânio Agrícola S.A. company and Edmundo Dias de Andrade, Agent of Agricultural and Livestock Activities of CEPLAC, for the support in data collection.
Conflict of interest
No conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
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