Balance design for robust foliar nutrient diagnosis of “Prata” banana (Musa spp.)

The “Cavendish” and “Prata” subgroups represent respectively 47% and 24% of the world banana production. Compared to world average progressing from 10.6 to 20.6 t ha(−1) between 1961 and 2016, and despite sustained domestic demand and the introduction of new cultivars, banana yield in Brazil has stagnated around 14.5 t ha(−1) mainly due to nutrient and water mismanagement. “Prata” is now the dominant subgroup in N-E Brazil and is fertigated at high costs. Nutrient balances computed as isometric log-ratios (ilr) provide a comprehensive understanding of nutrient relationships in the diagnostic leaf at high yield level by combining raw concentration data. Although the most appropriate method for multivariate analysis of compositional balances may be less efficient due to non-normal data distribution and limited nutrient mobility in the plant, robustness of the nutrient balance approach could be improved using Box-Cox exponents assigned to raw foliar concentrations. Our objective was to evaluate the accuracy of nutrient balances to diagnose fertigated “Prata” orchards. The dataset comprised 609 observations on fruit yields and leaf tissue compositions collected from 2010 to 2016 in Ceará state, N-E Brazil. Raw nutrient concentration ranges were ineffective as diagnostic tool due to considerable overlapping of concentration ranges for low- and high-yielding subpopulations at cutoff yield of 40 Mg ha(−1). Nutrient concentrations were combined into isometric log-ratios (ilr) and normalized by Box-Cox corrections between 0 and 1 which may also account for restricted nutrient transfer from leaf to fruit. Despite reduced ilr skewness, Box-Cox coefficients did not improve model robustness measured as the accuracy of the Cate-Nelson partition between yield and the multivariate distance across ilr values. Sensitivity was 94%, indicating that low yields are attributable primarily to nutrient imbalance. There were 148 false-positive specimens (high yield despite nutrient imbalance) likely due to suboptimal nutrition, contamination, or luxury consumption. The profitability of “Prata” orchards could be enhanced by rebalancing nutrients using ilr standards with no need for Box-Cox correction.