INFLUENCE OF CITRUS LEPROSIS ON THE MINERAL COMPOSITION OF Citrus sinensis LEAVES

Abstract

Citrus leprosis is the main viral disease affecting citrus in Brazil. Viral diseases can affect the mineral composition of citrus leaves, inducing mineral deficiencies. The aim of this work was to verify the influence of citrus leprosis on the mineral composition of citrus leaves, cultivar Pera. Orange seedlings were grown in pots containing sterile soil, and kept under greenhouse conditions. When plants had 15 to 20 leaves, they were infested with the mite Brevipalpus phoenicis, the leprosis vector, collected from infected citrus plants. Other plants were not infested, and were used as the control. Ninety days after infestation, all the infested plants presented leprosis lesions. The six upper leaves of each plant were collected and the determination of macro and micro-elements was performed. Leaves from the infected plants showed lower levels of N and higher levels of Ca, S and Fe, as compared to the control (= 0.05). Both treatments presented similar levels of P, K, Mg, Cu,Mn, Zn and B.

Keywords

• citrus
• leprosis
• mineral composition
• leaf analysis