Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems (Jan 2012)
EFFECT OF THE PLANTATION DENSITY IN THE GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVITY OF Cnidoscolus chayamansa MCVAUGH (EUPHORBIACEAE)
Abstract
The plantation density (PD) is a decisive factor in the agronomical resources of cultivation; as such, in this experiment, the effect of the growth and the productivity of the chaya plants were evaluated, as an associated growing in the cedar-lime system, to determine its optimum PD. The chaya plants were positioned at 1.50 x 3.00 m, utilizing cuttings without leaves; associated with young trees (less than 2 years) of Cedrela odorata and Citrus latifolia in a circular plantation design 'Nelder' of 3154 m2. Eight PD from 2602 to 3772 plants·ha-1 were defined with 10 repetitions. The variables were: rhizogenic potential (RP), growth rate (GR), index of vigor (IV), index of leaf area (ILA) and production of dry biomass (PDB). The results indicated that of the 3046 to 3772 plants·ha-1 were found to have the best RP, the ILA (5.44) and PDB (8.48 kg·plant-1); even though the IV (1.16) and GR (0.51 cm·day-1) were the best in 2602 to 2647 plants·ha-1. As the primary objective in this specie is the PDB, the PD optimal was 3046 to 3772 plants·ha-1.
