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Mineral nutrient removal by the harvest of citrus fruit

Fruit samples of nine cultivars of citrus were collected at the Limeira Experiment Station, State of São Paulo. The fruits belong to several species: Citrus sinensis -"Baianinha", "Hamlin", "Pêra", "Natal", and "Valencia" sweet oranges; Citrus reticulata - "Cravo"-tangerine; Citrus paradisi -"Marsh-seedless" grapefruit; Citrus aurantifolia - Tahiti lime; hybrid Citrus sinensis X Citrus reticulata -"Murcott" tangor. The fruits were sectioned in skin, pulp with juice, and seeds. It was determined the proportion among these parte and their water content. The concentration of all plant nutriente plus sodium, aluminum and cobalt was determined on the dried material. These data allowed the estimation of nutrient removal per metric ton of fresh fruit. The average of removed elements expressed in gramms per ton of fresh fruit of the nine cultivars follows this order: N-1,906; P-173; K-1,513; Ca-526; Mg-127; S-137; B-2.2; Cl-24.7; Cu-1.2; Fe-6.6; Mn-2.8; Mo-0.008; Zn-0.9; Co-0.003; Na-43.5; Al-7.6. The seeds showed to be organs where there is larger percentual quantity of the majority of macronutrients, except for K which is more abundant in the pulp plus juice. The cultivars Natal and Valencia showed the greatest nutrient removal, and Tahiti lime the lowest.


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