Among the factors that limit the productivity of the papaya tree, stand out the availability of water and mineral nutrients. Therefore, the adjustment of the appropriate irrigation depth for the culture also demands the accompaniment of the state nutritional of the plants. The objective of this work was to evaluate the response of the different irrigation depths (0, 40, 80, 120, 160, 200 and 240% of ETo) on the amounts of nutrients in the leaves of the papaya tree "Improved Sunrise Soil 72/12". The evaluations of the amounts of nutrients in the papaya tree were accomplished in June of 1999, by removing samples of two plants of each treatment, from which were analyzed, separately, the leaf blade and the petiole leaf. The results showed that the amounts of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, B, Na, Fe and Cu in the leaf blade, and the amounts of N, P, Ca, Mg, S, B, Na and Fe in the petiole leaf, varied significantly with the depth of applied water. The concentration of those nutrients, as a function of irrigation depths, was explained, in most of the events, by linear regressions, decreasing for N, K and Fe, and increasing for the other nutrients. The significant variation of the amounts of nutrients, as a function of irrigation, shows the need of studies that allow the adjustment of the manuring to the employed irrigation depth.
leaf analysis; nutrients; papaya tree and irrigation
