Nutrient availability during the year can affect the performance of macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia). However, there is no information about this crop responses to split application of fertilizer under Brazilian conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of splitting the application of chemical fertilizers on the nutrition, yield, and quality of nuts of the macadamia nut tree. The experiment was conducted over three growing seasons on an Oxisol in Jaboticabal, State of São Paulo, Brazil. A randomized complete block design with five replications was used. The NPK fertilization treatments were T1 - a single application in October; T2 - two applications, in October and December; T3 - three applications in October, December, and February; and T4 - four applications, in October, December, February, and April. Split application of a chemical source of NPK fertilizer resulted in higher N concentration in the leaves than single application, but it did not affect the concentration of other nutrients. The nut yield was increased when NPK application was split into two, three, or four times from October to April, as compared to single application in October. The recovery rate of nut kernels was not affected by splitting the application of NPK fertilizer.
Macadamia integrifolia; timing of application; mineral nutrition; recovery rate
