Water dephts and macronutrients accumulation in ‘pérola’ pineapple irrigated by drip

Abstract

Brazil is one of the largest pineapple producers worldwide, and those fruits are for the juice industry and the in natura market. Its cultivation requires high technology investment by using irrigation and balanced fertilization. However, little is known about the influence of drip irrigation on nutrient uptake by pineapple plants. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of different irrigation depths on nutrients accumulation by ‘Pérola’ pineapples grown in northern region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The experimental design was in randomized blocks with five treatments referring to: 30% of Class A Evaporation Pan (ECA); 50% of ECA; 70% of ECA; 100% of ECA; and 150% of ECA. To determine the levels of macronutrients and dry matter, the plants were separated in root, stem, leaves, ‘D’ leaf, crown, fruit and whole plant. The sequence of macronutrients accumulated in the whole plant was K>N>Ca>P>Mg. The fruits exported from the cultivated area the following amounts of macronutrients: 17.52 kg ha-1 of K (12.8%); 16.91 kg ha-1 of N (20.7%); 10.77 kg ha-1 of Ca (15.9%), 1.29 kg ha-1 of P (12.4%) and 1.04 kg ha-1 of Mg (20.5%). The irrigation depths that provided the maximum N, P, K and Ca accumulation in the whole plant are 53.6, 61.6, 54.5 and 60.2% of ECA, respectively.