Dirceu Mattos Junior

Yield mapping, soil fertility and tree gaps in an orange orchard

The current high competition on Citrus industry demands from growers new management technologies for superior efficiency and sustainability. In this context, precision agriculture (PA) has developed techniques based on yield mapping and management systems that recognize field spatial variability, which contribute to increase profitability of commercial crops. Because spatial variability is often not perceived the orange orchards are still managed as uniform and adoption of PA technology on citrus farms is low. Thus, the objective of the present study was to characterize the spatial variability of three factors: fruit yield, soil fertility and occurrence of plant gaps caused by either citrus blight or huanglongbing (HLB) in a commercial Valencia orchard in Brotas, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Data from volume, geographic coordinates and representative area of the bags used on harvest were recorded to generate yield points that were then interpolated to produce the yield map. Soil chemical characteristics were studied by analyzing samples collected along planting rows and inter-rows in 24 points distributed in the field. A map of density of tree gaps was produced by georeferencing individual gaps and later by counting the number of gaps within 500 m² cells. Data were submitted to statistical and geostatistical analyses. A t test was used to compare means of soil chemical characteristics between sampling regions. High variation on yield and density of tree gaps was observed from the maps. It was also demonstrated overlapping regions of high density of plant absence and low fruit yield. Soil fertility varied depending on the sampling region in the orchard. The spatial variability found on yield, soil fertility and on disease occurrence demonstrated the importance to adopt site specific nutrient management and disease control as tools to guarantee efficiency of fruit production.

Soil nutrient availability and its impact on fruit quality of Tahiti acid lime

ABSTRACT - The Tahiti acid lime in Brazil is mostly grown in the Sao Paulo State. The value of this crop production ranks among the ten most important fruits in the country. The Brazilian exports of Tahiti limes have increased in the last years with a corresponding increased demand for superior quality of fresh fruits, which is affected by mineral nutrients. Therefore, this study evaluated nutrient soil availability and its in fl u-ence on nutritional status of trees based on the determination of leaf and fruit nutrient concentrations, fruit characteristics, and post harvest quality. Eleven commercial groves with trees older than 4-yr and differently managed were studied. Plots with six trees in each grove were sampled for soil (0-20 cm depth layer), leaf and fruit analyses with three replicates. Correlation coef fi cients were pair wised established for all variables. The results showed that N leaf concentration was well correlated with green color of fruit peel as measured by a color index (r = -0.71**), and which was optimum with Leaf-N around 22 g kg

Acúmulo de nutrientes e destino do nitrogênio (15N) aplicado em pomar jovem de laranjeira

Information about nutrient absorption of citrus orchards is important to establish guidelines for best soil fertility management. However, studies on the fate of applied N fertilizers and validation of nitrogen (N) dose recommendations are scarce in the literature. The present work evaluated (i) the accumulation of nutrients and the distribution of N (15N) applied to citrus orchard and (ii) validated the N fertilization rate applied to young bearing orange trees. Three- to four-year-old Pera sweet orange trees Pera grafted on Rangpur lime were fertilized with 150, 300, 450, and 600 g of N per tree, as ammonium sulfate, split in three applications from spring to summer. A control treatment without N was included. In the same orchard, three plants were fertilized with 300 g per tree of N-[(15NH4)2SO 4)] labeled with 15N to study the fate of N in the soil-orange tree system. Fruit yield and recovery of 15N by tree biomass were evaluated. The efficiency of fertilization, estimate by tree N absorption, varied from 20 to 27% of the total applied N. Fruits exported 35% of the N taken up from fertilizer. Furthermore, the highest fruit yield was attained with N rate of 400 g/tree.

Suscetibilidade do capim-colonião e de cultivares de milho ao flúor

The emission of fluorides to the atmosphere arising from the production of superphosphate and ceramics has caused concern because of toxic effects on plants. However, few studies have been developed about fluoride (F) pollution with agricultural crops. A study evaluated the effect of atmospheric F in guinea grass and maize plants, using reference bioindicator plants of the type sensitive and tolerant. The plants were exposed to atmospheric contamination by F for short periods during 32 days in a misting system delivering 0.16 mol L-1 of hydrofluoric acid inside a chamber (~ 0.20 mmol m-3 of F). Unexposed plants (control) were also evaluated, with four replications. Exposure of plants to F caused an increase in leaf fluoride concentration up to 60 mg kg-1 for guinea grass and 100 mg kg-1 in the new leaves and 170 mg kg-1 in the old leaves for four varieties of maize, which demonstrated the cumulative effect of the element in the environment. Visual symptoms of toxicity were observed in plants and characterized by occurrence of chlorosis and necrosis on leaf blades. The guinea grass proved to be a species very sensitive to air pollution. The maize varieties DKB 390 and Omega 8315 were more sensitive to F when compared to the AG7088 and 2B707 ones. Chlorophyll a in plants was more affected by the F in relation to the contents of chlorophyll b.

Disponibilidade de boro em substrato para produção de porta-enxertos de citros em fase de sementeira

ABSTRACTBORON AVAILABILITY IN THE GROWTH MEDIA FOR PRODUCTION OF CITRUSROOTSTOCK SEEDLINGS The production of citrus nursery trees under protected environment using growth media requireshealthy management practices. Problems associated with deficiency and/or nutrient excess have frequentlycaused economic losses in the nursery. Citrus grow differently depending on boron (B) availability inthe growth media, even tough B toxicity commonly cause damage to plants. This research aimed toevaluate the effects of B supply in the growth media on nutrient uptake and seedling growth of tworootstock citrus varieties. A factorial design was set up with two factors: two rootstocks (Rangpur limeand Swingle citrumelo) and four B levels added to the substrate (0, 3, 6, e 12 g m -3 B) as boric acid, with3 replications. Boron availability in the substrate was evaluated at beginning the experiment, 55 and 110days after rootstock seeding, as well as seedling growth and B uptake by seedlings in the same timeintervals. Boron concentration in the treated substrate varied from 0.1 to 4.7 mg L

Comportamento de catorze porta-enxertos para o limão eureka km 47 na região de Araraquara-SP

Fourteen rootstocks were compared in a trial started in 1991, for Eureka lemon cv. km 47, nucellar clone, in Araraquara, Brazil. The rootstocks tested were Orlando and Seminole tangelos (C. reticulata Blanco x C. paradisi Macfad.), Cleopatra mandarin (C. reshni hort. ex Tanaka), Sunki mandarin [C. sunki (Hayata) hort. ex Tanaka], Rangpur Lime (C. limonia Osbeck), Rough Lemon cv. African (C. jambhiri Lush.), and Volkamerican cv Catania 2 (C. volkameriana V. Ten. & Pasq.), sweet orange [C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck] cv. Caipira DAC, sour orange (C. aurantium L.), Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. cv. EEL, P. trifoliata (L.) Raf. cv. Kryder 8-5, Morton citrange [P. trifoliata (L.) Raf. x C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck], C. karna Raf. and C. pennivesiculata (Lush.) Tanaka. Yield was measured by weight of fruits per tree, for a period of five years (1998-2002). The best yielding rootstocks were C. pennivesiculata and Cleopatra mandarin (> 220 kg/tree). Citrus karna, both tangelos, both trifoliates and sweet orange cv. Caipira DAC presented the lowest fruit yields (<180 kg/tree). Fruit quality and percentage of trees affected by gummosis were also studied. No significant variation was observed for fruit quality characteristics for trees on different rootstocks, while trees on C. penivesiculata and sour orange were resistant to gummosis infection.