Physiological characterization in varieties of the genus Schizolobium under water deficit

Abstract

The genus Schizolobium has a species divided into two varieties: Paricá belonging to the Amazon forest and Guapuruvu belonging to the Atlantic Forest, both of importance for ecology and forestry due to the quality of the wood. As they are values-adding varieties, information on the physiological mechanisms that regulate the metabolism of plants in a particular environment becomes important to establish their level of adaptation. Thus, the aim was to analyze the possible physiological and biometric differences between the two varieties regarding the tolerance to drought when submitted to the water deficit. The work was developed in nursery, in the experimental field of the State University of Bahia. The design was completely randomized – CRD with 2 treatments and 200 replicates. Statistical analyzes were performed by software R (R CORE TEAM, 2017). The results showed that the growth analysis through the physiological indexes was efficient to identify differences in the initial growth of Schizolobium plants and the physiological characteristics of gas exchanges were negatively affected by water stress in both varieties during the days of stress.