Abstract
Jatropha seeds oil can replace fossil fuels, but the nutrient supply management for this species is not fully described. The objective with this work was to establish curves of macronutrient (nitrogen - N; phosphorus - P; potassium - K; calcium - Ca; magnesium - Mg and sulfur - S) content in leaves, stem and roots, and to evaluate the relative growth rate (RGR), absolute growth rate (AGR) and the foliar mass ratio (FMR). The experiment was arranged in completely randomized design with five replications. Jatropha plants were grown in nutrient solution and collected at intervals of 14 up to 119 days after treatments started. The period of highest uptake of nutrients occurred from 7 to 35 days after treatments started, which coincides with highest AGR, RGR, FMR and accumulation of dry biomass. The highest Ca and Mg accumulation occurred in the leaves (respectively 48% and 47% of the total taken up), while N, K, S and P were mostly accumulated in the stem (58%, 56%, 56% and 53%, respectively). The nutrients more taken up by Jatropha plants were N and Ca, and the order of macronutrients uptake was: N > Ca > K > Mg > S > P. Jatropha plants have shown high macronutrients content on its early development, indicating the importance of nutritional management to achieve reliable biomass yield.
Highlights
The constant increases in crude oil prices and environmental concerns have led to the search for renewable fuels, such as biodiesel
The global cultivation of Jatropha plants has greatly increased without prior adequate agronomic knowledge of the species and with limited genetic diversity (ROSADO et al, 2010)
Evaluation of the nutritional requirements of seedlings is necessary, as this can benefit the proper establishment of Jatropha plants crops, and indicate the period when the plant has a greater demand for nutrients, as well as show changes in nutrient uptake during plant development and the relative concentration of nutrients in the biomass
Summary
The constant increases in crude oil prices and environmental concerns have led to the search for renewable fuels, such as biodiesel. Evaluation of the nutritional requirements of seedlings is necessary, as this can benefit the proper establishment of Jatropha plants crops, and indicate the period when the plant has a greater demand for nutrients, as well as show changes in nutrient uptake during plant development and the relative concentration of nutrients in the biomass. These results can lead to a more efficient fertilization program and result in greater crop productivity. The objective with this study was to establish the curves of accumulation of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and S in leaves, stem and roots of Jatropha plants and to identify the rates of biomass content
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