Nutritional deficiency symptoms of young ‘cedro doce’ plants grown under macronutrient omission

Abstract

‘Cedro doce’ [Pochota fendleri (Seem) Alverson & Duarte] is a native forest species in Amazon with great ecological and economic importance. Understanding nutritional requirements of the species allows cultivating Pochota fendleri with more efficient fertilization practices since its initial growth, as a seedling. Thus, this research aimed to evaluate the symptoms of nutritional deficiency of young ‘cedro doce’ plants. The experiment was carried out from September to December 2016, under greenhouse conditions, at Embrapa Roraima, in Boa Vista, RR, Brazil. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with seven treatments [complete solution and individual omission of the macronutrients (N, -P, -K, -Ca, -Mg, -S)] and three replications. Each experimental plot corresponded to a pot with one plant, corresponding to 21 plots. At 77 days after transplanting the seedlings to the pots, the plants were evaluated for symptoms of nutritional deficiency: total height, collar diameter, leaf number, chlorophyll a and b, chlorophyll a/b index ratio, shoot and root dry mass, and root/shoot ratio. The macronutrients omission caused nutritional deficiency symptoms in all ‘cedro doce’ plants. In general, P and N omission caused the least development of plants. This result is an indicative that ‘cedro doce’ is a high demanding species for both nutrients, especially phosphorus.