REPONSE OF STAR FRUIT TREES TO LIMING

The correction of the superficial and subsurface acidity of the soil. especially for perennial crops, is essential to ensure the fast establishment of the orchard and the early production of fruits. The present work aimed to evaluate the effects of liming in the implantation and formation of a star fruit orchard (Averrhoa carambola) and its reflections in the soil, the plant, the fruit production, as well as determining the duration of the residual effect of the initial application of the calcareous rock. The experiment was conducted at the Citrus Experimental Station in Bebedouro, Sao Paulo, in a Typic Haplustox (V initial = 26% in the 0 to 20 cm layer) between August 1999 and July 2006. The doses of limestone were: 0. 1.85 3.71. 5.56 and 7.41 t ha(-1). During 78 months after the implementation of the corrective soil chemical analyses were performed as well as the evaluation Of the nutritional status and the fruit production during five agricultural harvests. The liming provided the improvement of the chemical characteristics of the soil, raising pH. Ca, Mg, V% and reducing the H+Al, down to 60 cm deep. The leaf levels of Ca and Mg increased, correlating itself positively with the fruit yield. The highest combined star fruit production was associated with base saturation of 40 and 53% in the line and between the line of the star fruit orchard. respectively.