Nutrient budget of coffee plantations in Brazil

This project will be carried out for several years, allowing time to evaluate the Nutrient Budget in years of both high and low coffee yields and consideration of the biennial nature of the crop. Brazilian coffee production has undergone major changes in recent years, with one of the main changes being the significant increase in crop yield. This increase was due, among other factors, to the evolution in the knowledge of coffee nutrition in Brazil. The current information on coffee nutrient use efficiency is not encouraging because the crop is known to have low utilization rates of N, P, and K.

The objective of this work is to evaluate the yield relationship between the amount of nutrients supplied and the yield obtained. To evaluate the efficiency of these nutrients, information was sought from producers in several regions of Brazil regarding applied nutrient practices and coffee productivity. The study contains seven areas distributed in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. Previous results showed an average nutrient budget (% removed in the crop) of 27% for N, 12% for P, and 40% for K.

We are planning to include at least 10 new areas for the next year.