The present study was conducted to evaluate the nutritional status of sugarcane in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by means of sufficiency range and Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS). Foliar samples were collected in commercial sugarcane fields to evaluate the N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Cu, Mn and Zn concentrations. These foliar contents were compared to: (a) sufficiency range described in the literature, (b) average foliar concentration from a high-yielding group cultivated in Campos dos Goytacazes and (c) adequate foliar concentrations obtained with DRIS. The frequency of cases when the foliar nutrient concentration was below these criteria was determined. DRIS indices were calculated for all the samples collected. The frequency of cases when the DRIS indices for each nutrient were negative and when the DRIS indices of each nutrient were the most negative in each sample were determined. Nutritional standards established in different regions showed different nutritional diagnoses in the sugarcane. Nutritional diagnoses with local standards showed K, P and S as the most limiting nutrient, while nutritional diagnoses with standards described in literature showed N, Zn and Cu as the most limiting. The local calibration of the nutritional standards is important to obtain a successful nutritional diagnosis of sugarcane in Campos dos Goytacazes (RJ)/Brazil.
Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System; DRIS; sufficiency range