Efeitos de diferentes níveis de N, P e K sôbre cacaueiros jovens (Theorema cacao L.) em solução nutritiva

Cocoa seedlings were grown in nutrient solution in order to find out the effects of the levels of N, P, K in the substrate on growth, symptoms and chemical composition of the leaves. A 3x3x3 factorial design was used. The following conclusions can be drawn. 5.1. Among the three elements under study, only nitrogen had a positive, significant effect on growth as measured by height and dry weight. 5.2. The level of a given elements in the leaves did increase when its level in the nutrient solution was raised. On the other hand the N content was positively affected by the concentration of P in the substrate. 5.3. A decrease in the N/P and K/P rations in the leaves was observed when the nutrient solutions had, res-respectively, absence of K and N and high level both of K and N. The N/K ratio increased with the level of P in the substrate. 5.4 A highly significant positive correlation was found between N content in the leaves and dry weight. This was not the case however, insofar P and K are considered - no correlation whatsoever was observed.