Ivoney Gontijo

Variabilidade e correlação espacial de micronutrientes e matéria orgânica do solo com a produtividade da pimenta-do-reino

Studies on the spatial variation of soil properties associated with the response of crop yields may contribute to a rational application of inputs, enabling economic and environmental gains. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the variability and spatial correlations among soil Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, and organic matter contents and yield of black pepper grown on a Yellow-Red Latosol. The study was carried out on a black pepper plantation under microsprinkler irrigation, in Sao Mateus, State of Espirito Santo, Brazil. The experimental area was 100 x 120 m (12.000 m2). Soil was collected from under the tree canopies in the 0-0.20 m layer, in a grid with minimum distances of 5 m, totaling 126 soil samples. The black pepper production was estimated by harvesting the three plants nearest to each sample point. All measurable semivariogram properties were satisfactorily described by spherical models with a moderate and strong spatial structure. There was a negative spatial correlation between soil Fe content and yield black pepper and positive spatial correlation among Zn, Mn and organic matter contents and black pepper yield.

Variabilidade espacial de macronutrientes em uma lavoura de café conilon no Norte do Espírito Santo

The soils in the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil (ES) display low natural fertility, which often limits the production of the crops due to the deficiency of some elements. However, they have a high potential for agricultural production when the chemical limitations which are present are overcome. The aim of this study was to describe the spatial variability of the macronutrients calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in a crop of conilon coffee (Coffea canephora Pierre) located in the rural area of the city of Sao Mateus, ES. The experiment was carried out on a crop, planted at a spacing of 1.8 x 1.0 m (5,555 plants ha-1). A rectangular grid of 61.6 x 20.0 m (1,232 m2) was considered, with 60 sampling points, spaced 5.6 m apart between rows and 5.0 m within each crop row. At each point in the sampling grid, soil samples were collected at a depth of 0.00-0.20 m. All the macronutrients under study displayed a strong spatial dependence. The greatest range of spatial dependence was observed for Mg (32.4 m) and the smallest for Ca (8.1 m). Study of the spatial variability of the chemical properties of the soil by geostatistics, using kriging, proved to be an important tool in understanding the spatial distribution of macronutrients in the soil, and may be crucial in aiding the decision making that helps to attend the nutritional requirements of the conilon coffee crop.

Micronutrients in the fruits and leaves of irrigated and non-irrigated coffee plants

ABSTRACT The growing requirement for micronutrients by increasingly more productive Robusta coffee genotypes and for the expansion of coffee plantations into low fertility soils has led to the need for better understanding of the micronutrient dynamics in Robusta coffee plants. The aim of the present study was to investigate micronutrient concentrations and their accumulation from flowering to fruit ripening, as well as micronutrient leaf concentrations throughout the year, in irrigated and non-irrigated Coffea canephora plants. Three-year-old Robusta coffee plants of genotype 02 were used. The fruit micronutrient accumulation curves for irrigated and non-irrigated Robusta coffee plants were best fitted by sigmoid functions. Irrigation resulted in higher micronutrient accumulation in fruits. Iron and boron were the micronutrients found in the highest amounts in fruits and leaves.

Distribuição espacial do ataque da broca-do-café no café conilon

Insect spatial distribution allows concentrate sampling and management efforts in places with the highest population densities, and insect spatial behavior provides information about conditions in agroecosystem and migration or plague aggregation. Despite the importance for pest management, spatial distribution knowledge of Hypothenemus hampei in conilon coffee has been rare reported. An irregular mesh with 100 sampling points was installed in a high yield crop located in the municipality of São Mateus, Espírito Santo State, Brazil (2011/2012 and 2012/2013 harvests) aiming to determine the incidence of coffee berry borer and its spatial variability in conilon coffee. Fruit samples were collected at each point, and evaluated the number of damaged fruits by checking drilling in each one. The data were submitted to geostatistics analysis. It was possible to check the insect damage density of variability in different harvest years. The semivariograms related to insect damage were better adjusted to spherical and exponential models with spatial dependence index of 72 and 62%, respectively. Atendency of insect attack movement of a harvest to another from the edges to the crop center was observed.

Variabilidade espacial de cálcio, magnésio, fósforo, potássio no solo e produtividade da pimenta-do-reino

The black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) has a social importance and it is mainly cultivated by small farmers, however the relationship between the spatial variability of nutrients in soil and yield of black pepper is little known. Thus, the purpose of this study was to analyse the spatial variability of Ca, Mg, K, P in soil and black pepper yield, cultivated in a distrophic Red-Yellow Latosol. The study was carried out in a black pepper plantation, in Sao Mateus, in the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil. A 3 x 1,8 m spacing in a mesh of 100 x 120 m (total area 12.000 m2), with 126 sampling points was used. Soil samples at depth of 0-0.2 m were collected at each point of the grid, in order to evaluate the soil chemical attributes. The variables presented a moderate and strong spatial dependence structure allowing their mapping by geostatistics techniques. Kriging maps were shown to be important tools for the understanding of spatial variability of soil nutrients, and it may be essential for decision making in the black pepper crop.