Jl. Valenzuela et al., FUNCTIONAL MATHEMATICAL PATTERN FOR DEFINITE CONDITIONS AND VARIABLESIN DIAGNOSING MINERAL AND ENZYME IMBALANCES IN PLANTS, Phyton, 57(1), 1995, pp. 21-30
The Reordinated Matrix Rotated Factor (Varimax) has previously been sh
own to be a valuable tool in diagnosing mineral and enzyme imbalances
in plants which, once corrected, result in increased yield. The basic
tenets of this approach are discussed in relation to making diagnoses
at yield levels. The results show the Varimax approach to be superior
as it is capable of making valid diagnoses regardless of crop age. It
can also rank nutrients and enzymes in their limiting order to crop yi
eld, thus emphasizing the importance of nutrient and enzyme balance in
plant nutrition. The poorer performance of the critical value approac
h probably stems from the fact that the leaf tissue from which diagnos
es are to be made, is not always taken at precisely the same physiolog
ical stage as was used to develop the norms. The Varimax refinement al
lows to diagnose intensities of plant requirements in terms of yield r
esponses for any given nutrient and enzyme at any stage of plant growt
h. Overall, Varimax is superior to the critical value approach in that
it generates valid diagnoses more frequently because variations due t
o tissue age are taken into account.