Initial growth of Erythrina velutina under water restriction

Abstract

Erythrina velutina Willd. is a wood species native to northeastern Brazil, used as ornamental and in reforestation programs. In this context, the aim of this study was to obtain information on the development of E. velutina under water restriction. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with a split plot with four replications. It was used two irrigation management schemes (with and without water stress) where in the first treatment the plants were cultivated with daily irrigation, in the morning and afternoon. For the second treatment, at 56 days after transplanting, the seedlings went through a period of 14 days without irrigation. Throughout the experiment, there were five evaluation of growth, at 28, 42, 56, 70 and 84 days after transplanting. The seedlings were analyzed for length of aerial part, number of leaves, stem diameter, leaf area and dry mass of stem, leaves, roots, aerial part, total dry matter and the ratio of aerial part and roots dry matter. E. velutina seedlings present potential to develop xeromorphic characteristics for conservative water use through different morphological adaptations as falling leaves and increased root development. Seedlings of E. velutina shall be grown without water restriction.