Photosynthetic pigments, nitrogen, chlorophyll a fluorescence and SPAD-502 readings in coffee leaves

The chlorophyll meter (SPAD-502) is a simple, portable diagnostic tool that measures the greenness or relative content of leaves. Compared to the traditional destructive methods, the use of this equipment saves time, space and resources. The objective of this study was to establish a correlation between the photosynthetic pigments content extracted in DMSO, the total nitrogen content and the chlorophyll a fluorescence variables with the SPAD-502 readings in Coffea canephora Pierre leaves. The SPAD-502 has been shown to be a good tool to diagnose the integrity of the photosynthetic system in coffee leaves, and can thus help in the advanced interpretations of the photochemical process of these plants. The SPAD readings lower 40 show impairment in photosynthetic process. Thus, the portable chlorophyll SPAD-502 can be used to analyze the photosynthetic pigments, and total nitrogen can also help in interpretation of the photochemical process in coffee plants. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.