FIG TREE GROWTH UNDER DIFFERENT CROP CONDITIONS

Abstract

The plant growth analysis can be a good tool to evaluate the yield physiological basis and the influence of environmental, genetic, and agronomic traits. The Ficus carica L. growth, under irrigation and mulch (crushed sugar-cane), was evaluated in Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil. The experimental design was randomized blocks, in a 2x2 factorial scheme (mulch x irrigation), with 4 replications and each replication consisting of 3 plants, under the following treatments: T1 - without irrigation or mulch; T2 - without irrigation and with mulch; T3 - with irrigation and without mulch; T4 - with irrigation and mulch. Destructive and non-destructive analysis were carried out at 7, 55, 76, 97, 114, 135, 156, 176, 198, 219, 240, 254, and 275 days after transplanting, based on the following parameters: branch and stem diameter, branch length, and number of leaves, internodes, and fruits. Different plant organs were partitioned to obtain the fresh and dry mass of isolated partitions. The leaf area (cm²) was measured with a photoelectric device and the irrigation management was carried out with the aid of a tensiometer, keeping the soil matric potential close to -30 kPa. The use of mulch and irrigation favored the development of plants (stem diameter of 36.60 mm and branch length of 1.28 m), and the crop growth rate, relative growth rate, and net assimilation rate were respectively 7 g m^-2 day^-1, 0.015 g g^-1 day^-1, and 17 g m^-2 day^-1. These rates showed that the mulch provided satisfactory hydric conditions to a fast establishment of seedlings.