Diagnostic methods to assess the nutritional status of the carrot crop

Abstract

Leaf analysis may identify nutrient deficiency or excess in plant tissue. The aim of this study was to determine reference values and generate nutritional diagnosis from the results of leaf analysis of the carrot crop (Daucus carota L.) by the methods of Critical Level, Sufficiency Range, Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System, and Compositional Nutrient Diagnosis. Contents of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, B, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn were determined in 210 carrot fields in the 2012 and 2013 crop seasons in the Alto Paranaíba region, MG, Brazil. The whole plant shoot was sampled at harvest time to generate reference values for diagnosis. The high yielding subpopulation showed yield higher than 87.8 Mg ha-1. The four diagnostic methods generated similar reference values of nutrients, but different from those found in the literature. Leaf diagnosis through nutrient content in the shoot at harvest time indicated Mn as the most limiting nutrient for growing carrot, followed by Mg, K, and Ca.