The objective of the present work was to examine the differences in nutrients levels between the cultivars Agroceres 256, Agroceres 504, Centralmex, H-7974 and Piranão. The experiment was carried out in the municipality of Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The soil type was a sandy "Regossol" of medium fertility. Common cultivation practices were followed, and the fertilizer used consisted of 83 g of a formula: 30-120-70, per meter length at planting, and 33 g of the formula 50-0-45 per meter length as a dressing. The plant population density was 50,000 per hectare. Sixty days after planting and at flowering the leaves (+4) and the ear leaf, respectively, were harvested for diagnostic purposes. It was observed that differences exist in the concentrations of P, K, Ca, Mg and Fe in the leaf (+4) dry matter of the cultivars at 60 days after planting, and in the concentrations of P, K, Cu and Fe during flowering. Such differences did not affect the production of grain. The extent of the differences between cultivars in the levels of nutrients in the leaves depends on the period of sampling. The harvestry of leaves at determined physiological periods tend to dimi-nuish these differences. Cultivars with similar yield potential may be regarded equally in relation to their leaf analysis, provided that one adopts an adequate range of nutrient levels.