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| Author(s): |
Michelle Nazare Xavier da Costa
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | Piracicaba. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC) |
| Defense date: | 2004-04-30 |
| Examining board members: |
Herbert Barbosa de Mattos;
Ciniro Costa;
Moacyr Bernardino Dias Filho;
Paulo Leonel Libardi;
Ricardo Ferraz de Oliveira
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| Advisor: | Herbert Barbosa de Mattos |
| Abstract | |
The lack of information related on responses of plants to flooding has been the motivation of many research woks throughout the world. This information, become even scarcer when related to tropical forage tropical grasses of areas to flooding.The majority of those grasses characteristic of those areas, which could play an important role in the development of the livestock industry in Brazil, due to their potential of forage production. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the acting of the Brachiaria mutica (Forsk) Stapf and Echinochloa polystachya (H.B.K) Hitch.] the flooding tolerance, cultivated in two Plintossolos (gley), by subjecting the plants to two humidity conditions: flooding and field capacity and measuring photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, activity of the alcohol dehidrogenase activity, shoot and root dry matter productions, chemical composition and quality. Also it, was studying the influence of changes in the physiochemical characteristics of the soils under flood on the behavior of these species. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse of the Biology Science department at USP-ESALQ in Piracicaba - SP. The treatments were the combination among grasses; humidity conditions and soil types in a split plot design with a factorial arrangement of 2 x 2 and as repetitions four randomized blocks. The plot was considered as the humidity conditions (flooding and field capacity), and the split plot were the interactions between the two grasses and the two soil types, totaling 32 experimental units. Three harvests were made during the experiment, though, only the two were considered. Net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance were not affected by flooding, which was attributed to the activation of the morphologic, metabolic and anatomical mechanisms of adaptations of these species. Adventitious roots formation, dry matter production of stems and roots were stimulated by flooding, however, leaf area, leaf and total dry mass productions, leaf:stem ratio and the number of tillers were reduced by flooding, causing detrimental effects in the biomass allocation between shoot and root. Flooding caused significant changes in the mineral composition reducing nutrients contents, except for phosphorus and iron, however, without compromising nutritional status of both species. The chemical composition of the species was also affected by flooding which caused an increase in the fiber contents and a reduction in lignin concentrations. The changes in the morphological characteristics, production, mineral and chemical composition in the tropical forage grasses were associated to the alterations in the physiochemical properties of the soils caused by the lack of oxygen, transforming the soils in a reduced environment. (AU) | |