The possibility of using norms obtained at a given site for different climate and soil conditions can confer the methods of diagnosis of nutritional status a universal character. In this sense, the methods Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS), modified DRIS (M-DRIS), and Compositional Nutrient Diagnosis (CND) were applied in Eucalyptus grandis plantations aiming at comparing the diagnosis established by the methods with either specific or general norms at several sites in the central-eastern region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil, under different evaluation criteria. Yield data and the N, P, K, Ca, and Mg leaf contents from 993 Eucalyptus grandis stands (spacing 3 x 2 m) at ages between 72 and 153 months were used from six sites in the study region. The validity of the universal norm was evaluated by comparing the Frequency of Concordant Diagnosis (FDC) derived from the response potential to fertilization (PRA), obtained by specific or general norms under the following evaluation criteria: nutrients separately; varying from all of them (5) to no nutrient (0); only for the primary limiting nutrient by deficiency (p), or by excess (n). The universality degree varied according to the adopted evaluation criterion. Due to the lack of universality of the norms, the use of specific norms instead of general norms is preferable.
Eucalyptus grandis; leaf diagnosis; specific norms; general norms
