Characterization of nutrient deficiency in Hancornia speciosa Gomes seedlings by omitting micronutrients from the nutrient solution/Caracterizacao de deficiencia nutricional de mudas de mangabeira com omissao de micronutrientes em solucao nutritiva

Hancornia speciosa Gomes (Mangaba tree) is a fruit tree belonging to the Apocynaceae family and is native to Brazil. The production of seedlings of this species is limited by a lack of technical and nutritional expertise. To address this deficiency, this study aimed to characterize the visual symptoms of micronutrient deficiency and to assess growth and leaf nutrient accumulation in H. speciosa seedlings supplied with nutrient solutions that lack individual micronutrients. H. speciosa plants were grown in nutrient solution in a greenhouse according to a randomized block design, with four replicates. The treatments consisted of a group receiving complete nutrient solution and groups treated with a nutrient solution lacking one of the following micronutrients: boron (B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), and molybdenum (Mo). The visual symptoms of nutrient deficiency were generally easy to characterize. Dry matter production was affected by the omission of micronutrients, and the treatment lacking Fe most limited the stem length, stem diameter, root length, and number of leaves in H. speciosa seedlings as well as the dry weight of leaves, the total dry weight, and the relative growth in H. speciosa plants. The micronutrient contents of H. speciosa leaves from plants receiving the complete nutrient solution treatment were, in decreasing order, Fe>Mn>Cu>Zn>B. Index terms: Hancornia speciosa Gomes, mineral nutrition, symptoms, growth. A mangabeira (Hancornia speciosa Gomes) e uma frutifera pertencente a familia Apocynaceae, originaria do Brasil. A producao de mudas desta especie em grande escala ainda e limitada pela escassez de conhecimentos tecnicos e nutricionais. Para obter maiores esclarecimentos sobre o assunto, este trabalho objetivou caracterizar os sintomas visuais de deficiencia de micronutrientes, avaliar o crescimento e o acumulo de nutrientes foliar de mudas de mangabeira, submetidas a diferentes solucoes nutritivas com suspensao de micronutrientes. Plantas de mangabeira foram cultivadas em solucao nutritiva, dentro de casa de vegetacao, no delineamento de blocos casualizados, com quatro repeticoes. Os tratamentos foram constituidos de solucao nutritiva completa e omissao individual de boro, cobre, ferro, manganes, zinco e molibdenio. Os sintomas visuais de deficiencias de nutrientes mostraram-se, de maneira geral, facilmente caracterizaveis. A producao de materia seca foi afetada pela omissao de micronutrientes, e o tratamento que