Productivity and nutrition of fertigated açaí palms according to boron fertilization

Abstract

Abstract Due to the increasing national and international demand, the cultivation of açaí palm trees (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) has expanded to upland areas in Brazil. Most of these areas present low natural soil fertility, in which boron (B) is one of the most limiting nutrients. This study aimed to evaluate the productivity of fresh fruits of fertigated açaí trees submitted to doses of B. The study was carried out in Tomé-Açu, northeastern Pará, Brazil. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks with four treatments: control and addition of 20, 40 and 60 g of B clump-1. After 17 months, bunches of fresh fruits were collected and the production per hectare was estimated. An economic analysis was carried out considering the costs of fertilization and fruit production. The productivities obtained in the treatments were considered above the average of the municipality of Tomé-Açu. The estimated content of leaf B that provided the highest productivity was 14.9 mg kg-1, for a yield of 5479 kg ha-1 year-1¸ while the critical content corresponded to 13.2 mg kg-1. The highest productivity of fresh açaí fruits was achieved with the dose of 20 g of B clump-1, which provided a net gain of 42%.