Papers

Summary

The knowledge of determined attributes of the soil associated to the reply of productivity of the coffee can make the application rational, located and individualized of the farm input, with guaranteed ambient economic results possible. Therefore, this work was aimed at evaluating the spatial variability of soil chemical attributes and the productivity of coffee cropping in an Oxisol. Soil samples were collected in a depth of 0-0.2m, at the crossing points of a regular grid with 25m-intervals, comprising a total of 68 points in an area of 6.2ha. Fruits of four coffee plants around the soil sampling points were collected and the average production per plant was calculated. The variables presented a spatial dependence structure, allowing their mapping by geostatistics techniques. Chemical attributes presented low range values, with exception of the phosphorus and potassium variables, evidencing the low soil continuity spatial under the coffee crop. The wide variation range of chemical attributes shows the necessity of point fertilizer application for coffee cropping.