Inducing Nutrient Deficiencies of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur and Iron in Agave potatorum Zucc.

In order to induce nutrient deficiencies in Agave potatorum Zucc. plants an experiment was carried out using in vitro plants transplanted into sand bottles (15 L volume). Treatments were Steiner nutrient solutions with a complete formulation and others lacking of N, P, K, S and Fe. The experiment was conducted in a complete random design (CRD) with six repetitions. At eight months after transplant, number of leaves per plant, leaf length from bottom to apex, width leaf, and number of thorns per plant were evaluated. Variance analysis showed highly significant differences (alpha=0.001) to each variable. Plants receiving the complete nutrient solution had, on average, 18 leaves, 18.6 cm of leaf length, 6.8 cm of leaf width, and 1401 thorns per plant. There were no significant differences between these plants and those receiving nutrient solutions lacking P, K, S and Fe. Only plants receiving the nutrient solution without N showed a significantly lower number of leaves per plant (11), smaller leaf lengths (9.8 cm), leaf widths (5.3 cm), and a lower number of thorns per plant (587).