Foliar nitrogen content, chlorophyll and carotenoid-chlorophyll relationship in Coffee arabica under different amendments of soil acidity

Abstract

Some industrial residues, as the slag and magnesium oxide have a potential use on the correction of soil acidity. However, the physiologic, biochemical processes and the soil-plant relation, influenced by residues in the crop development are poorly studied. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nitrogen proportions, chlorophyll, total chlorophyll relation and carotenoids in coffee arabica leaves as a function of application of different doses of lime, metallurgic slag and magnesium oxide, on two oxisols. The study was conducted at the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo in greenhouse, on plants grown in pots of 10 dm3 . The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with factorial distribution of 2 x 3 x 6, with three replications. The analysed factors were: two soils, three amendments and six doses of corrective material. After 180 days of cultivation the chlorophyll reading (SPAD-502) and the analysis of the proportion of leaf nitrogen were carried out. The relation between the proportions of total chlorophyll and carotenoids was estimated according to the equation ?= 0.5227+0.1589x+0.001x², R² =0.95. It was verified that the corrective materials studied presented potential use as substitute to lime.