Norms for the diagnosis and recommendation integrated system for signal grass.

ABSTRACT: The Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) has been proved efficient as a method for nutritional diagnosis in several crops. However there is a lack of information on the use of DRIS for tropical forage grass. The aim of this paper was to establish norms for interpretation of results of analysis from recently expanded leaf laminae of Brachiaria decumbens Stapf. (Signal grass), through the DRIS method. To establish DRIS norms, concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn and the relative production obtained in six experiments conducted in greenhouse using nutrient solution and silica as substrate were considered. DRIS indices were calculated using two criteria in order to choose the ratio order of nutrients: F value - ratio of variance for the relationships among nutrients between the reference group and the low productivity group; and R value - correlation coefficients between the productivity values and the relationship among the pairs of nutrients, and three forms of calculation for the functions of nutrients (methods of Beaufils, of Jones, and of Elwali & Gascho). The two criteria to choose the ratio order of nutrients selected different ratios between pairs of nutrients; the nutrient concentrations were positively and significantly correlated with the respective DRIS indices, except for N; and DRIS norms are useful for the nutritional diagnosis of the ten studied nutrients in leaf laminae of Signal grass. Key words: Brachiaria decumbens, DRIS norms, foliar diagnosis