A greenhouse experiment was carried out with seedlings of the tropical tree
Peltophorum dubium (Spreng.) Taub. in order to study its nutritional requi
rements. As substrate an oxisol with low nutrient availability was used and
distributed in 10 treatments: a complete one (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, B and Zn
), the others lacking one element in each treatment (-N, -P, -K, -Ca, -Mg,
-S, -B and -Zn) and a control (natural soil). The following characteristics
were assessed: plant height and diameter growth, dry matter production and
levels of nutrient into dry matter of shoots. It was concluded that seedli
ngs are affected by the omission of all nutrients in the following order: P
> N > S > Ca > Mg > K > B. The omission of K, Ca and Mg affects S absorpti
on by plants.