e-ISSN 1983-4063 - www.agro.ufg.br/pat - Pesq. Agropec. Trop., Goiânia, v. 52, e71344, 2022
Research Article
Nutritional diagnosis of banana (Musa AAA
Simmonds subgroup Cavendish) with root sap analysis1
Manfred Ricardo Palacio2, Daniel Gerardo Cayón Salinas3,
John Jairo Mira Castillo4, Stanislav Magnitskiy5, Mario Augusto García Dávila3
ABSTRACT
The status of mineral nutrients in the banana crop
is commonly determined by foliar and soil analyses, which
often do not present a significant relation with its production
performance. This study aimed to evaluate whether the root
sap analysis determines the nutritional status of plants more
accurately in response to fertilization. The experiment was
carried out in a completely randomized design, with three
treatments (complete fertilization, traditional fertilization and no
fertilization), three replicates and four plants per replicate. The
contents of macro (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) and micronutrients (B,
Zn, Mn, Fe and Cu) were analyzed in the root sap, leaves and
soil at the base of the plant. Potassium was the macronutrient
found in the highest quantity in the root sap of the fertilized
and unfertilized plants, while the predominant micronutrients
were Mn in the fertilized plants and Fe in the unfertilized ones.
The concentrations of N, P, K, Ca and Mg in the root sap were
significantly lower for no fertilization than for complete and
traditional fertilization, but did not show significant differences
between the foliar and soil analyses. The root sap analysis was
more sensitive than leaf analysis to diagnose the nutritional
status of the banana plants.
RESUMO
Diagnóstico nutricional de banana
(Musa AAA Simmonds subgrupo Cavendish)
com análise de seiva da raiz
O estado nutricional mineral da cultura da banana
é geralmente determinado por análise foliar e de solo, que,
com frequência, não apresentam relação significativa com seu
desempenho produtivo. Objetivou-se avaliar se a análise da seiva
da raiz determina com maior precisão o estado nutricional da
planta em resposta à fertilização. O experimento foi conduzido
em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com três tratamentos
(fertilização completa, fertilização tradicional e sem fertilização),
três repetições e quatro plantas por repetição. Foram analisados
os conteúdos de macro (N, P, K, Ca e Mg) e micronutrientes (B,
Zn, Mn, Fe e Cu) na seiva da raiz, folhas e solo na base da planta.
Potássio foi o macronutriente encontrado em maior quantidade
na seiva da raiz das plantas fertilizadas e não fertilizadas,
enquanto os micronutrientes predominantes foram Mn nas plantas
fertilizadas e Fe nas não fertilizadas. As concentrações de N, P, K,
Ca e Mg na seiva da raiz foram significativamente menores para a
não fertilização do que para a fertilização completa e tradicional,
mas não mostraram diferenças significativas entre as análises
foliar e do solo. A análise de seiva foi mais sensível do que a
análise foliar para diagnosticar o estado nutricional da bananeira.
KEYWORDS: Plant nutrition, plant-soil relations, foliar analysis,
soil analysis.
PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Nutrição de plantas, relações planta-solo,
análise foliar, análise de solo.
INTRODUCTION
worldwide after rice, wheat and milk (Perea & Tirado
2010, FAO 2022).
Generally, big differences can be observed
between the concentrations of mineral nutrients in
the soil and the requirements of mineral nutrients
by plants, although the concentrations of nutrients
in soils are commonly higher than the plant
Bananas (Musa AAA) and plantains (Musa
AAB) are grown in more than 120 developing
countries, representing the basic food for nearly
400 million people and, in terms of total production
value, are considered the fourth most important food
1
Received: Dec. 23, 2021. Accepted: Mar. 21, 2022. Published: Apr. 26, 2022. DOI: 10.1590/1983-40632022v5271344.
2
Agrosavia, Centro Experimental El Mira, Tumaco, Nariño, Colombia.
E-mail/ORCID: agromanfred@gmail.com/0000-0001-8262-0526.
3
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Palmira, Colombia.
E-mail/ORCID: dgcayons@unal.edu.co/0000-0003-3386-8431; magarciada@unal.edu.co/0000-0001-8197-6344.
4
Compañía de Empaques S. A., Itagüí, Antioquia, Colombia. E-mail/ORCID: jmira.castillo@gmail.com/0000-0002-2906-6519.
5
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Departamento de Agronomía, Bogotá, Colombia.
E-mail/ORCID: svmagnitskiy@unal.edu.co/0000-0002-3715-1932.
2
M. R. Palacio et al. (2022)
physiological requirements (White 2012). However,
to estimate the production of the banana crop, the
plant nutrient status is commonly determined based
on foliar and soil samples.
There has always been a controversy if the
soil or foliar analysis is more appropriate to provide
fertilizer recommendations; the consensus is that
the nutrient status of a plant is better shown by the
element concentration in leaves than in other plant
organs (Römheld 2012).
While the soil analysis indicates the quantity
and potential availability of the nutrients that the
roots can absorb in favorable conditions, the foliar
analysis shows the concentration of these elements
accumulated in the leaves at a given phase of
the developmental stage (Farneselli et al. 2014,
Nadezhdina et al. 2020). However, these analyses
are often uncertain, because they do not necessarily
correlate with the productive performance of the
crop. The nutrient concentration in the leaves
has been considered a reliable indicator of the
long-term nutrient status of plants, although some
researchers reported poor relationships between
the soil and foliar analyses and the yield in banana
(Twyford & Walmsley 1974, Turner et al. 1988).
Hernández (2004) found no relationship between
the nutrient content in the soil and the productivity
of bananas, even though the nutrients were available
in the soil solution. In banana plantations of Costa
Rica, the foliar concentrations of mineral nutrients
were similar in areas of good growth as in areas
of poor growth, indicating that there was no direct
relationship between the soil and foliar analyses
and the nutrient status of the plantations (López &
Espinosa 1995).
Plant sap analysis is an option for determining
the plant nutrient status and provides the opportunity
for growers to adjust fertilization and apply the
specific amount of nutrients needed (Esteves et al.
2021), because it can assess the nutrient uptake more
precisely and increase the fertilizer use efficiency
(Cadahía et al. 2008, Goffart et al. 2008, Incrocci
et al. 2017).
The sap extracted from roots is mainly
composed of fluids of the vascular bundles of xylem
and phloem and the vacuolar content (Cadahía et al.
2008, Gangaiah et al. 2016). Plant sap analysis is an
early determination of plant nutrient status, since
it comes from real-time information (Goffart et al.
2008, Incrocci et al. 2017). The root sap analysis
could be an effective tool for quick and economic
diagnosis of the deficiencies or excesses of mineral
nutrients (Errebhi et al. 1998, Aguilera et al. 2014),
thus allowing the conducting of programs and timely
adjustments of fertilization in horticultural crops
(Gómez et al. 2017).
Since the fluid collected with root excision is
a mixture of xylem and phloem saps, its analytical
separation in the laboratory is difficult (Frutos et
al. 2009). Additionally, it is difficult to obtain pure
sap from phloem or xylem for analysis, due to the
possibility of contamination of other injured tissues
at the time of sample collection and the immediate
sealing of vascular cells at the time of cutting
(Shakya & Lal 2018).
Thus, this research aimed to analyze and
compare the concentrations of nutrients in the sap
of roots, leaves and soil at the base of the plant
pseudostem, in order to determine the nutrient status
of banana plants.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The study was carried out at the Cenibanano
banana research center (Carepa, Antioquia, Colombia)
(7º46’46”N, 76º40’20”W and 20 m a.s.l.), where
the maximum, minimum and mean temperatures
are 32.3 ºC, 23.2 ºC and 26.7 ºC, respectively,
with 1,700 hours of sunshine/year, 2,896 mm of
mean annual rainfall (Ideam 2015) and climatic
characteristics corresponding to tropical humid forest
(bh-T) (Holdridge 1967). The soils are classified
as Fluventic fine Eutrudepts, Fluvaquentic fine
Eutrudepts loamy on clay and Vertic fine loamy
Endoaquepts, with 51 % of silt, 40 % of clay, 9 %
of sand, pH 5.9 and low K and P contents in the
first horizon (Gutiérrez 2007). A plantation of the
‘Williams’ banana (Musa AAA Simmonds subgroup
Cavendish) was used, with plants established in a
triangle, at distances of 2.5 m between rows and 2.5 m
between plants, for a density of 1,600 plants ha-1.
The experiment was conducted in three
lots managed with different levels of fertilization:
complete fertilization, established based on soil and
foliar analyses in the lot; traditional fertilization,
established without soil and foliar analysis in the lot;
and no fertilization (lot unfertilized for five years)
(Table 1).
The fertilizers used in the study were urea
(46 % of N), diammonium phosphate (46 % of P2O5),
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Nutritional diagnosis of banana (Musa AAA Simmonds subgroup Cavendish) with root sap analysis
3
Table 1. Fertilization treatments.
Type of fertilization
Complete
Traditional
No fertilization
N
PO
KO
312.2
317.4
0
43.8
30.5
0
467
468
0
2 5
2
_____________________________________________________
Photos: Manfred Ricardo Palacio
KCl (60 % of K2O), Nitromag (21 % of N; 11 % of
CaO; 7.5 % of MgO), Nitrabor (15.45 % of N; 25.5 %
of CaO; 0.3 % of B) and Sulpomag (22 % of K2O;
18 % of MgO; 22 % of S), and the fertilization was
done every 21 days, for 13 weeks.
A completely randomized design was used,
with three treatments, three replicates and four
plants per replicate. The irrigation, weed control
and phytosanitary management of the experimental
lots were uniform and followed the management of
commercial plantations.
The samples were obtained at the initial phase
of bunch development, when the first hand of fruits
become visible, after the unfolding of their floral
bracts (Kuhne et al. 1973, Robinson & Galán-Saúco
2012), which is the most appropriate moment to
determine the nutrient requirements of the plant
(Belalcázar et al. 1976). In four plants per replicate,
sap samples were collected from the primary (first
order adventitious) roots. The leaf samples were
obtained from the youngest fully expanded leaf
(leaf 3), which was separated from the plant with a
knife, and then a central sector of 10 cm leaf blade
CaO
MgO
S
B
Zn
kg ha-1 year-1 _____________________________________________________
31.3
22.4
68.3
1
0.3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
was taken on both sides of the leaf midrib. Soil
samples were collected at 30 cm from the base of
the plants and at a depth of 30 cm.
For the root sap samples, part of the soil
around the plant pseudostem was removed at a depth
of 20 cm, and mature and healthy primary roots
with white color, typical firmness and flexibility,
and 5-8 mm diameter were chosen (Soto 1992,
Robinson & Galán-Saúco 2012); these did not present
physical damage that could interrupt the sap flow
(Figure 1A). Each selected root was washed with
distilled water and then cut with a clean blade at a
distance of 10 cm from the rhizome and immediately
placed in a 20 mL plastic vial. The vials were covered
and hermetically sealed with a polyethylene bag, to
prevent the collected sap from being contaminated
with soil particles, rainwater or living organisms
(Figure 1B).
The vial was left for 24 hours until about
80 mL of the sap sample were collected, and then
one drop of 1 % HCl was added to stabilize the pH
and prevent sap denaturation by microorganisms. The
sample was sent to the laboratory to determine the
(A)
Figure 1. Selection of the primary root (A) and root sap collection (B).
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(B)
4
M. R. Palacio et al. (2022)
total concentration of macro (N, P, K, Ca and Mg)
and micronutrients (B, Zn, Mn, Fe and Cu) in the
root sap. The total nitrogen content was determined
by the micro-Kjeldahl method and volumetric
titration, and P was determined by colorimetric
titration with ammonium vanadate and molybdate.
Ca, K, Mg, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn were quantified with
titration by atomic absorption spectrophotometry,
and B was determined by colorimetric titration with
Azomethine-H (IGAC 2006).
The foliar and soil analyses were carried out
according to the international reference method
for sampling of fertilizer experiments in banana
(López & Espinosa 1995, Espinosa & Mite 2002).
Leaf samples were obtained from the central
sector of the third leaf blade and dried in a forced
ventilation oven at 65 ºC, until constant weight. Soil
sampling was done at the base of the pseudostem of
each sampled plant and three sites around the roots
selected for sap extraction. Nitrogen was quantified
in a Leco TruSpec CN Elemental Analyzer, and P was
determined by calcination at 475 ºC and colorimetric
titration with molybdate and ammonium vanadate.
K, Ca, Mg, B, Zn, Mn, Fe and Cu were quantified by
atomic absorption spectrophotometry (IGAC 2006).
The data that did not present homogeneity
of variance were transformed with (x + 0.5) 0.5
and subjected to analysis of variance (Anova) for
the evaluated nutrients to verify the significant
differences among the types of fertilization. A
multivariate analysis of variance (Manova) was also
performed to contrast the differences, considering
the three types of analysis (root sap, foliar and soil)
simultaneously. The means were compared using the
Tukey test (p ≤ 0.05). The analyses were carried out
with the SAS 9.4® statistical software (SAS Institute,
Inc., NC, USA).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The sap collected from plant roots is a mixture
of xylem and phloem fluids composed of water,
mineral nutrients, hormones and other mostly organic
substances (Cadahía et al. 2008, Gangaiah et al.
2016). The concentration of the macronutrients in
the root sap was highly variable among the fertilizer
treatments (Table 2). Potassium was the element found
in the highest quantity in the root sap and in the soil
where the plants were grown. The concentrations of
N, P, K, Ca and Mg in the root sap were significantly
lower in the treatment with no fertilization than in
the complete and traditional fertilization treatments,
but did not show significant differences between the
foliar and soil analyses. The N content in the sap was
significantly higher in the complete (40.8 mg L-1)
than in the traditional fertilization (25.4 mg L-1) and
no fertilization (9.8 mg L-1) treatments (Table 2). The
contents of N, K, Ca and Mg were comparatively
higher in the root sap than in the leaves and soil, while
the content of P was higher in the soil.
The foliar N concentration was lower in the
non-fertilized plants, while P, K and Ca did not show
differences among the fertilization treatments. The
concentrations of nutrients in the root sap might
differ from those in the leaves, because, after being
absorbed, the plant distributes the nutrients among
the organs depending on its functional needs at that
time. The composition of the root sap changes during
the ontogenesis of plants and its concentrations of
elements and organic solutes vary according to the
plant species, type of fertilization, age of the organ,
climatic conditions, time of the year and time of
sampling (Pino et al. 2012, White 2012).
The N in the soil did not show differences
among the fertilizer treatments, while those of P,
Ca and Mg were lower in the non-fertilized plants.
Phosphorus was found in a greater quantity in the
soil of the traditional fertilization plants, while Ca
and Mg were the major elements in soils of the
complete fertilization plants, and K had the highest
concentrations in soils of the non-fertilization plants
(Table 2). The contents of N and P in the soil samples
were considered low, those of K were medium and
those of Ca were very high (ICA 1992, López &
Espinosa 1995).
Generally, the ion concentration in the root sap
is higher than in the soil solution, with those of K,
NO3- and P being the most evident nutrients (White
2012). In the root sap of rice, the Mg concentration
exceeds that of the external nutrient solution when
the Mg concentration in the nutrient solution is less
than 3 mM (Tanoi et al. 2011). The requirement of
P by banana plants is not as high as that of N and
K (Castillo González et al. 2011); however, banana
plants could absorb more P than required for their
physiological processes (Robinson & Galán-Saúco
2012).
Soil analysis is frequently considered an
imprecise indicator of N availability for banana
cultivation, since it does not allow the examination
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Nutritional diagnosis of banana (Musa AAA Simmonds subgroup Cavendish) with root sap analysis
5
Table 2. Macronutrient contents in the banana root sap (mg L-1), leaf samples (%) and soil samples (mg kg-1) of ‘Williams’ banana
(Musa AAA Simmonds subgroup Cavendish) under three levels of fertilization.
____________________
Fertilizer treatments
Complete
Traditional
No fertilizer
Mean
CV (%)
Significance
Fertilizer treatments
Complete
Traditional
No fertilizer
Mean
CV (%)
Significance
N ____________________ ____________________ P ____________________ ____________________ K ____________________
Leaves
Soil
Root sap
Leaves
Soil
Root sap
Leaves
Soil
2.7 a
26.9
4.71 a
0.15
5.5 b
233.0 a
3.2
0.26 b
2.8 a
31.5
1.55 b
0.17
17.6 a
189.6 a
3.5
0.26 b
2.3 b
23.8
0.32 b
0.17
3.4 b
21.2 b
3.5
0.65 a
2.58
27.0
2.13
0.16
7.7
152.1
3.43
0.38
3.9
14.0
39.2
11.1
16.8
24.0
11.4
22.0
**
ns
**
ns
**
**
ns
**
____________________________
Ca _____________________________ __________________________________ Mg __________________________________
Root sap
Leaves
Soil
Root sap
Leaves
Soil
21.7 a
0.66
13.0 a
24.1 a
0.33 ab
5.6 a
26.3 a
0.78
11.4 ab
15.5 ab
0.36 a
4.7 ab
10.5 b
0.56
8.2 b
5.7 b
0.24 b
2.9 b
19.7
0.66
11.1
14.2
0.31
4.4
16.4
16.9
14.0
14.5
18.3
24.2
**
ns
*
**
*
*
Root sap
40.8 a
25.4 ab
9.8 b
25.3
22.5
*
Averages followed by the same letter do not differ significantly according to the Tukey test. * p ≤ 0.05; ** p ≤ 0.01; ns: p > 0.05.
of the close relationship between the soil N and the
physiological response of the plants (Haifa 2009).
On the contrary, Rodrigo et al. (2006) found a direct
relationship between soil nitrate levels and nitrate
concentration in the root sap of artichoke (Cynara
cardunculus).
The micronutrient concentration in the
root sap also varied significantly among the
fertilizer treatments (Table 3). Manganese was the
microelement found in the highest proportion in the
root sap. Although the Anova did not show significant
differences among the treatments, the contents of
Mn in the sap (0.5 mg L-1) of the no fertilization
treatment were lower. The concentrations of B and
Fe were also lower in the sap of the non-fertilized
plants. The higher concentration of B present in the
sap of the plants under complete fertilization could be
because this element was applied only in the complete
fertilization treatment (Table 1). Although reliable
data on micronutrient concentrations in the root sap
Table 3. Micronutrient contents in the banana root sap (mg L-1), leaf samples (mg kg-1) and soil samples (mg kg-1) of ‘Williams’
banana (Musa AAA Simmonds subgroup Cavendish) under three levels of fertilization.
____________________
Fertilizer treatments
Complete
Traditional
No fertilizer
Mean
DMS
CV (%)
Significance
Fertilizer treatments
Complete
Traditional
No fertilizer
Mean
DMS
CV (%)
Significance
B ____________________ __________________ Zn __________________ ____________________ Mn ____________________
Leaves
Soil
Root sap Leaves
Soil
Root sap
Leaves
Soil
18.0 ab
0.2 a
0.58
17.25
0.8 b
2.9
445.0 ab 39.5 b
19.3 a
0.2 a
0.38
18.5
1.2 a
1.9
522.8 a
42.8 a
13.0 b
0.1 b
0.34
16.8
0.9 b
0.5
293.0 b
14.2 c
16.8
0.17
0.42
17.5
1.0
1.77
431.8
31.5
6.1
0.03
0.59
5.53
0.12
3.19
195.7
0.39
18.2
5.9
60.1
16.0
5.9
71.8
21.3
0.58
*
ns
ns
ns
**
ns
*
**
________________________________
Fe ________________________________ ______________________________ Cu ______________________________
Root sap
Leaves
Soil
Root sap
Leaves
Soil
0.14 b
90.0
119.5
0.09
9.0 ab
6.8 b
0.17 b
108.3
215.3
0.08
10.5 a
7.3 a
6.82 a
95.0
111.1
0.05
6.8 b
3.1 c
2.38
97.8
152.1
0.07
8.75
6.0
4.5
69.0
1.1
0.05
2.93
0.27
74.8
28.2
0.33
30.2
16.9
2.14
**
ns
**
ns
*
**
Root sap
1.6 a
0.5 b
0.3 b
0.72
0.61
40.2
**
Averages followed by the same letter do not differ significantly according to the Tukey test. * p ≤ 0.05; ** p ≤ 0.01; ns: p > 0.05.
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6
M. R. Palacio et al. (2022)
are very scarce (White 2012), B concentrations of
200-500 μM have been reported (Huang et al. 2008).
The contents of Cu and Zn in the root sap did not vary
among the fertilizer treatments (Table 1).
The concentrations of B, Zn, Mn and Cu in the
leaves were lower in the non-fertilized plants than for
the complete and traditional fertilization treatments,
except for Fe, which had similar concentrations
among the treatments. In the soil samples, no
differences were found in the contents of B, Zn
and Fe among the complete fertilization, traditional
fertilization and no fertilization treatments (Table 3).
The significant differences found among the
fertilizer treatments for the contents of macronutrients
and micronutrients in the root sap, leaves and soil
indicate that the root sap more feasibly reflected
changes in the levels of mineral nutrients in response
to fertilization, as compared with foliar and soil
analyses. The foliar analysis does not allow for an
early diagnosis of the plant nutrient requirements,
because it expresses average values from the
beginning of the crop cycle until the moment of
taking the sample, when different phenological
phases have already passed. The element contents
in the root sap may differ from their amounts in
the leaves, since plants re-distribute the nutrients,
depending on the nutrient requirements in each
phase of growth and development. Additionally, the
re-translocation of certain elements, such as Ca, Mg
or Fe, from leaves could be limited (Fageria 2015).
The multivariate analysis of variance (Manova)
showed significant differences (Table 4). The Tukey
test (p ≤ 0.05) of the first canonical correlation to
establish the differences among the three treatments
in the joint analysis of all variables indicated that
the most accurate analysis of the nutrient content
was that of the root sap, if compared to the soil and
foliar analyses. These results confirmed the data
observed in the univariate analyses of variance
(Tables 2 and 3).
Concerning the proportion of mineral nutrients
in the root sap in the three fertilization treatments,
K was the predominant macronutrient and P was
the minor one (Figure 2). This coincides with what
was observed in other studies that reported K as the
element that the banana plants absorb in the highest
quantity (López & Espinosa 1995, Martínez Acosta &
Cayón Salinas 2011). Potassium is the major mineral
CF
% (from the total sum of
macronutrients)
80
Table 4. Multivariate analysis of variance (Manova) and Tukey
test (p ≤ 0.05).
70
60
50
Statistics
Wilks’ lambda
Treatment
Root sap
Soil
Leaves
40
30
20
10
0
N
P
Ca
K
W value
0.00011
Average
108.69 a
-91.96 b
-483.41 c
DF
20
-
Pr > F
0.0055
-
K
Mg
Mg
TF
NF
80
80
% (from the total sum of
macronutrients)
% (from the total sum of
macronutrients)
F value
19.15
-
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
N
P
Ca
K
Mg
N
P
Ca
Figure 2. Macronutrients proportion in the banana root sap (% from the sum of N, P, Ca, K and Mg). CF: complete fertilization; TF:
traditional fertilization; NF: without fertilization. The vertical bars represent the standard error of means for 16 replicates
(p ≤ 0.05).
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Nutritional diagnosis of banana (Musa AAA Simmonds subgroup Cavendish) with root sap analysis
CF
% (from the total sum of
micronutrients)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Cu
Fe
Mn
Zn
B
Mn
Zn
B
TF
% (from the total sum of
micronutrients)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Cu
Fe
NF
% (from the total sum of
micronutrients)
90
80
70
60
7
The micronutrients Mn, Zn and B were
predominant in the sap of the complete fertilization
and traditional fertilization treatments, and Cu and
Fe were the minor ones (Figure 3). In the root sap
of the non-fertilized plants, Mn, Zn and B were also
found in greater quantities, but the Fe content was
significantly higher (6.82 mg L-1), if compared to its
contents in the complete and traditional fertilization
treatments (Table 3). The increasing Fe contents in the
root sap of the non-fertilized plants could be due to
the higher metabolic demand of Fe (e.g., respiration)
by the roots searching to increase their growth rate
under conditions of no fertilizer application to the soil.
In general, the elemental composition of the
root sap depends on different factors, including the
species, its development stage, nutrient availability in
the soil and agricultural practices (Alexou & Peuke
2013, Fageria 2015, Nadezhdina et al. 2020). In trees,
the chemical composition in the xylem sap could be
a potential marker of the tree’s nutrient condition in
different soil environments (Smith & Shortle 2001).
However, almost no published records on this topic
could be found for banana plants (Robinson & GalánSaúco 2012). Therefore, the results of the present
research could further serve for the development of a
methodology that would employ the root sap analysis
for the timely and accurate diagnosis of the nutrient
status of Musaceae plants.
50
40
CONCLUSIONS
30
20
10
0
Cu
Fe
Mn
Zn
B
Figure 3. Micronutrients proportion in the banana root sap
(% from the sum of Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn and B). CF:
complete fertilization; TF: traditional fertilization; NF:
without fertilization. The vertical bars represent the
standard error of means for 16 replicates (p ≤ 0.05).
1. The methodology generated for the extraction and
analysis of the banana root sap allows for the exact
evaluation of the nutrients that the plant absorbs
in a determined phase of development;
2. The root sap analysis is more sensitive than the
foliar analysis for determining the nutrient status
of banana plants.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
element present in the phloem sap of the vascular
plants, which plays a fundamental role in the loading
and unloading of the phloem in the roots (Fageria
2015). The low proportion of P found in the root
sap could be explained, in part, by the fact that its
determination was made during the initial phase of
the bunch development, and banana plants absorb
most of the P required during the first 9 weeks of
growth (Robinson & Galán-Saúco 2012).
This study was funded by the Cenibanano banana
research center (Colombia). The authors thank Marzory
Andrade for overall data consolidation and statistical
processing.
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