Nutritional Diagnosis of "Hass" Avocado (Persea Americana Mill.) Soil Fertility and Water Quality, In Tepoztlán, Morelos
Abstract
In recent years, the avocado has become an important fruit species in Mexico, where it is distributed in six states, among which there is the state of Morelos. For the study, two agrohabitats with eight -year-old avocado orchards located in Tepoztlán, Morelos were selected. Soil fertility of the orchards was evaluated, as well as the quality of irrigation water, and the nutritional state of the leaves; sufficiency ranges were calculated, and the Deviation from Optimum Percentage method was used to interpret the results. Soils an d the quality of irrigation water showed different chemical characteristics that had an influence on nutrient concentration in avocado leaves. The Deviation from Optimum Percentage (DOP) method allowed us to identify requirements of N, Zn, Mn, Fe and B in agrohabitat one, and deficiencies of P, K, Ca, S, Zn and Mn in agrohabitat two, which must be taken into account to implement a fertilization program in the studied orchards.
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Introduction
In 2010, world production of avocado (Persea Americana Mill.) cv. Hass was estimated at 3.8 million metric tons per year, obtained from a surface area of 462,661.50 ha, which were distributed in 65 countries; 64.23% of these countries were located in the Americas, and the remaining 35.77% in the rest of the world (FAOSTAT, 2012). In the same year, Mexico was the main producer of avocado in the world, with 28.44%, followed by Chile (8.47%), the Dominican Republic (7.41%), Indonesia (5.76%), and Colombia (5.81%) (FAOSTAT, 2012).
In 2013, 168,155 ha, were established in Mexico, with a global production of 1,109,000 metric tons of fruit. Just six states of the country (Michoacán, Jalisco, Nayarit, Mexico state, Guerrero, and Morelos) concentrated 92.27% of the cultivated surface, with yields of 3 – 11 t ha-1, and a national average of 8.7 t ha-1 (SIAP, 2013).
In recent years, the avocado has become the most important fruit species of Morelos, represented by a surface of 3,617.00 hectares, distributed in 13 municipalities, the most important of which are Ocuituco, Tetela del Volcán, Yecapixtla, Tlalnepantla, and Cuernavaca (SIAP, 2013). However, in this region of Mexico there are not enough studies about soil fertility, which is added to the presence of acidic pH (4.8-5.2), low organic matter content, and high levels of microelements, especially copper and zinc, besides the nutritional state of avocado trees, and the levels of extraction of nutrients from the fruit to better define the best fertilization method to have an optimal nutrition and production, aspects that are addressed in this study (Sotelo-Nava et al., 2013).
On the other hand, the water quality that is determinant for good harvests under irrigation conditions has not been determined, and this can lead to low of avocado fruit quality, low yields and an increase in pests and diseases (Sotelo-Nava et al., 2013). In the face of this situation, the objective of this research was to analyze the nutritional state of avocado trees and soil fertility in commercial orchards, and determine the quality of the water used for agricultural irrigation.
Conclusion
Studied soils tended to neutrality, and did not show salinity problems. However, CEC and nutrient concentration were different in both agrohabitats.
Irrigation water showed adequate pH values, low EC, and low concentrations of B, Cl-, and HCO3-, and thus can be considered suitable for irrigation without restrictions in both agrohabitats.
The nutritional state of “Hass” avocado leaves was different, where 30 and 46% of the elements analyzed were within the optimal sufficiency range for agrohabitats one and two, respectively.
DOP index allowed us to know the deficit of N>Zn>Mn>Fe>B>Cu in agrohabitat one, and P>Zn>K>S>Mn>Mg>Ca in agrohabitat two, which must be taken into account to carry out an adequate fertilization program in the orchards of “Hass” avocado in Tepoztlán, Morelos.
