Nutrient partition and nutritional efficiency of mango cv. Palmer as a function of plant age in São Francisco Valley, Brazil

Abstract

Knowing the accumulation of nutrients in mango plants is essential for calibrating fertilization programs aiming to increase yield in nutritionally unbalanced orchards. The work aimed to evaluate mango nutritional efficiency through nutrient accumulation and partitioning in plants of Palmer cultivar grown in sand soils at São Francisco Valley, Northwest Brazil. Commercial orchards located in Bahia and Pernambuco States, Brazil, under semi-arid climate (BShw; 400-800 mm annual rainfall) had the vegetable biomass and nutrient contents in the mango compartments determined in 1, 2, 4, 7, and 12 years old plants, by evaluating four plants of each age from 20 sample units. The separated samples of the harvested trees originated the compartments roots, stems, thick twigs, thin twigs, leaves and fruits. Nutrient contents and plant dry matter per compartment were determined and plant nutrient accumulation evaluated. Biomass and fruits coefficient of biological utilization were calculated. There was increment in the accumulated content of macronutrients in the mango plants over the years, with superiority for N and K, for which there was a sharp increase as compared to the other macronutrients. Manganese and Fe were the most accumulated micronutrients in the plants over the years. The canopy of the mango Palmer plants is the compartment that accumulates more macro and micronutrients, and the partition within the canopy occurs in the sequence: leaf> thin twig> thick twig. Phosphorus and Mg, and Cu and B are the nutrients more efficient to generate plant biomass and fruit production in the mango Palmer orchards.