The effect of radiation on seedling growth and physiology in four species of Prosopis L. (Mimosaceae)

VILELA, A.E.; RAVETTA, D.A.

JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS

ACADEMIC PRESS LTD-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2000 vol. 44 p. 415 - 423

0140-1963

Domestication of wild plants needs efforts focused particularly on thedevelopment of the theoretical basis of plant responses to environmentalconditions. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of radiationon seedling growth and physiology of Prosopis alba, P. chilensis, P. flexuosa andP. glandulosa. Seedlings were grown in a greenhouse and randomly assigned tothree light environments: full-sun, 52% sun, and 38% sun. No significantdifferences were found in the rate of leaf appearance and plant height 60days after the light treatments began. Instantaneous CO2uptake was notaffected by the light environment during leaf development and did notdiffer among species. Variations in radiation availability resulted in significantdifferences in biomass accumulation, shoot/root ratio, protein andtotal non-structural carbohydrates contents. The practice of shading seedlingsreduces the chances of survival of Prosopis due to an increase of the shoot/rootratio and a reduction of total biomass, stored carbohydrates, and the C:Nbalance.( 2000 Academic PressKeywords: Prosopis; mesquite; algarrobo; eco-physiology; light availability