A striking characteristic of soils under savanna vegetation is the low natural fertility, as in soils in the Upper Paranaíba region - MG. This characteristic is aggravated by the use of low fertilizer quantities, which may cause nutritional imbalance in plants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of coffee plants in the Upper Paranaíba region - MG, using the integrated system for diagnose and recommendation (DRIS) to interpret leaf analyses and apply the fertilization response potential to the DRIS index and analyze the correlations and interactions between leaf nutrient concentrations and DRIS index. Coffee leaf samples were collected in the initial fruit growth stage, removing two pairs of leaves from each plant in 20 random plants, in 59 commercial plantations of the region. Nutrient levels were determined and interpreted by the DRIS. DRIS indicated that the yield-limiting nutrients were: P, Fe, K = Mn, and Zn = B. The nutrients to which coffee plants tended to respond positively were: P, B, Fe, K, and Mn. The positives correlations between the DRIS index were: N(P, K and S), P(K, Mg and S) and K(Mg and S), and the negatives correlations: N(Ca, B, Fe, and Zn), P(Ca, B, Fe, Mn, and Zn) and K(Ca, B, Fe, Mn, and Zn).
mineral nutrition; coffee; DRIS; fertilization response potential
