Nutritional balance in mango plants in the Brazilian semiarid using nutritional diagnostic methods

ABSTRACT Nutritional assessment of mango trees based on diagnostic methods considering nutritional balance is recommended. This study aimed to establish optimum nutritional ranges using diagnostic methods, compare them, identify the most efficient diagnostic method, and select the nutrients responding best to the application of the diagnostic method. The study was conducted in commercial mango orchards in the São Francisco Valley. Nutritional content was calculated using the diagnosis and recommendation integrated system (DRIS-Beaufils, DRIS-Jones), modified DRIS (M-DRIS-Beaufils; M-DRIS-Jones), compositional nutrient diagnosis (CND), and mathematical chance (ChM) methods and compared using the chi-square test. Principal component analysis was applied to select the most efficient diagnostic method and the nutrients responsible for the greatest variability. The DRIS-Beaufils, M-DRIS-Beaufils, DRIS-Jones, M-DRIS-Jones, CND, and ChM methods generated nutritional sufficiency ranges for the evaluated cultivars. The nutritional diagnoses of the DRIS-Beaufils and M-DRIS-Beaufils methods were similar and discordant with those of DRIS-Jones, M-DRIS-Jones, and CND. The DRIS-Beaufils method, updated by Maia, proved to be more consistent for the nutritional assessment of mango trees. The nutrients N, P, K, Mg, and S in the Tommy Atkins cultivar; N, P, Mg, S, B, Mn, Zn, Mo, and Cl in the Kent cultivar; and N, P, K, Ca, S, B, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mo, and Cl in the Keitt cultivar showed significant responses to the application of the DRIS-Beaufils method updated by Maia.