Phenology and biometry of physic nut in the Brazilian savannah

Abstract

Phenological studies on three morphologically distinct accessions of physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.) were conducted in the Brazilian Savannah biome. Plant growth rate, flowering, fruit formation and development were measured in order to establish appropriate management practices for increasing productivity. The accessions CNPAE-102 (toxic and susceptible to powdery mildew), CNPAE-169 (non-toxic and susceptible to powdery mildew) and CNPAE-259 (toxic and resistant to powdery mildew) were studied. Accessions with undetectable levels of phorbol ester in the grains were considered as non-toxic. The agronomic variables (plant height, number of inflorescences, number of green and ripe fruits per plant) from each accession were measured biweekly during one year (August 2009 to July 2010), correlating them with climatic variables using the Pearson's correlation analysis. CNPAE-102 showed the highest growth rate (0.76 cm day-1), with 1.10 m increment in height and final height of 2.60 m. CNPAE-169 showed the lowest growth rate (0.63 cm day-1) with final mean height of 1.85 m. CNPAE-102 and CNPAE-259 showed early cycle and CNPAE-169, late cycle. The minimum temperature was the climatic variable that determined the most inflorescences.