Diagnosis and recommendation integrated system (DRIS) of tomato in greenhouse

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Abstract
Plant nutrition is one of the most important factors for successful cultivation of tomatoes, especially in the greenhouse, and Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) is an alternative for fertilizer recommendation. This study aimed to establish DRIS norms for tomato plants growing in greenhouse located at Norte Pioneiro do Paraná region (Paraná State, Brazil). Chemical analysis of nutrients on leaves (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, B, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) of hybrid tomatoes (Colibri, Pizzadoro, Debora Max and Granadero), and respective yields of 61 growing areas in greenhouses (24.4 ha) were used. Samples were collected during April to December 2010, in five cities. Five levels of tomato yield (6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 kg plant-1) were used for establishing a database with all binary relationships among all the nutrients studied in all samples. The average, standard deviation and variance for each concentration of nutrient were calculated and it was done for relationship among nutrients, also, in each sub-population. We used 55 relationships which showed the highest ratio in the variance between sub-populations. The nutritional content of each nutrient and the nutrient balance index (IBN) of each production level were calculated. The best correlation between IBN and tomato yield was obtained with 8 kg plant-1 of tomato and this value was defined as an index to be used for DRIS. The nutritional diagnosis carried out in crops with yields below 6 kg plant-1 showed relative deficiencies of K and B and relative excess of Mg.