Development of CND and DRIS Standards for High-Quality ‘Hass’ Avocado Seedling Production
摘要
The aim of this study was to establish nutritional standards for high-quality ‘Hass’ avocado seedling production using the Compositional Nutrient Diagnosis (CND) and Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) approaches. This research addresses the current lack of standardized nutritional criteria for avocado seedling production, which are essential for successful orchard establishment and productivity. Leaf samples were collected from 55 plots across four commercial nurseries in São Paulo, Brazil. Seedlings were evaluated for Total Dry Matter (TDM) and the Dickson Quality Index (DQI) as indicators of productivity. Nutrient concentrations were measured and used to compute CND and DRIS indices. High- and low-yield populations were defined for each method. Sufficiency Ranges (SRs) and Critical Levels (CLs) were determined through regression analyses relating to nutrient indices and concentrations. Both DRIS and CND methods were effective in establishing nutritional standards. CND indices explained a higher proportion of the variation in productivity indicators (R² = 57% for TDM; 61% for DQI) compared to DRIS (R² = 26% for TDM; 38% for DQI). Sufficiency Ranges (SRs) and Critical Levels (CLs) were established for macro and micronutrients, with CND providing more accurate benchmarks due to its multivariate analytical approach. The study successfully developed DRIS and CND standards, along with SRs and CLs values for high-quality ‘Hass’ avocado seedling production. CND demonstrated superior diagnostic performance in explaining productivity variations related to nutritional balance.