The chlorophyll meter and the color chart have been applied to monitor nitrogen fertilization in different crops, based on the assumption that there is a correlation between their readings and the nitrogen content (N) in the plant tissue. This research aims at assessing the use of the chlorophyll meter and the color chart to estimate the N content in leaves of flooded rice plants. Two experiments installed at a Albaqualf (Planossolo Háplico) were used, the first using five N doses (0, 50, 80, 120 and 160kg ha-1 as urea) and the cultivar 'IRGA 417', and the second with six flooded rice cultivars of different cycles ('BR-IRGA 409', 'BR-IRGA 410', 'IRGA 417', 'IRGA 421', 'EPAGRI 108' and 'HÍBRIDO 2') with one only N dose. Assessments with the chlorophyll meter and the color chart were carried out on leaves of rice at different growth stages. Along with the readings, leaves were sampled and the leaf N content was determined. When the N doses varied, there was a meaningful correlation between the readings from the chlorophyll meter and the color chart with the leaf N content, regardless the assessment period. When the cultivars varied, the chlorophyll meter readings correlated with the N content (r=0.78, P<0.05) but not with the color chart (r=0.25ns). The chlorophyll meter and the color chart were efficient to estimate the N content when a particular cultivar was used, however, the color chart presents higher dependence of the accurate evaluator's interpretation as well as a narrower range of scales, making it often harder to find the best color setting. When different rice cultivars are used, only the chlorophyll meter is sensitive to estimate the leaf N content.
Oryza sativa; nutritional state; N management
