Compositional Nutrient Diagnosis of a Sample of Plantain from Sur del Lago de Maracaibo (Venezuela)

Abstract

The aim of the present study was the estimation of reference concentration values for plantain (Musa AAB subgroup plantain cv. Hartón) using the Compositional Nutrient Diagnosis system. Eighty-eight plants were sampled in 2000–2001 in commercial orchards in Sur del Lago de Maracaibo (Venezuela), their yields recorded, and nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and sodium (Na) concentrations determined in the foliar material. A yield cutoff of 16.98 kg·bunch−1, obtained after modeling the cumulative variance ratio function versus yield relationships with sigmoidal (Boltzmann) equations, was selected as the value above which plants were regarded as high yielders. Estimations from the high-yield group (N = 31) resulted in the following reference concentrations for macronutrients (in g·kg−1): 27.4 (N), 2.0 (P), 41.2 (K), 6.5 (Ca), 2.8 (Mg), 1.9 (S), and 0.5 (Na). For micronutrients the reference concentrations were (in mg·kg−1): 15.6 (Zn), 8.3 (Cu), 64.0 (Fe), and 76.3 (Mn).