Seasonality in nutrient content of banana diagnostic leaf

Abstract

Banana farming has an important position in Brazilian agricultural production. This position was earned due to the use of cultivation technologies and adequate fertilization made through recommendations of evaluation of foliar analyzes. The objective of this study was to determine the seasonality of the nutritional status of the diagnostic leaf during the development of banana tree. The experiments took place in the city of Sete Barras/SP, with cultivars such as Grande naine and Prata, on summer and winter. It was evaluated the influence of the collection of the diagnostic leaf in the stations, in six seasons during the development of the banana bunch and it was compared with the standard sampling. The values were submitted to analysis of variance, and when the F was significant, a comparison of means was performed. The sampling stations and the collection stages influence the nutrient behavior in the diagnostic leaf of both varieties, with exceptions for Mg and Mn. The average levels of nutrients during the collection stages showed no difference among the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th (standard). Even for the ‘Prata’ and Grande Naine banana plants cultivated in the Ribeira Valley, there is no significant alteration in the nutrient content of the foliage among the 1st to 4th stages, allowing an increasing of collection for foliar tissue analysis.