Content of Photosynthetic Pigments and Leaf Gas Exchanges of Young Coffee Plants under Light Restriction and Treated with Paclobutrazol

Abstract

The use of shading and paclobutrazol in coffee plants can be an important cultivation strategy to mitigate the negative effects of high solar radiation and atmospheric temperature. Therefore, the levels of photosynthetic pigments and foliar gas exchanges of young coffee plants submitted to doses of paclobutrazol were evaluated, in environments with artificial light restriction. Five experiments were performed: one in full sunlight and four in artificially shaded environments with black polyethylene meshes at 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% levels of light restriction. In each of these environments, an experiment was carried out, consisting of five treatments, defined by the application of paclobutrazol via substrate, at doses of 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg of active ingredient per plant. Joint analysis of experiments and analysis of variance of the regression were made, for the study of levels of shading and doses of paclobutrazol. The light restriction optimized the photosynthetic apparatus of the plants, mainly at levels close to 60%, and considerably favored leaf gas exchanges of arabica coffee. The application of paclobutrazol in the studied dosages resulted in little or no effect on photosynthetic pigment contents and did not influence leaf gas exchanges of coffee plants.