Early development of seedlings of copaiba under different shade levels and substrates

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of different shade levels and types of substrates in the initial development of seedlings of Copaiba. The trial was conducted in a randomized block design in a factorial 5 x 4 with five substrates, Bioplant®; 70% vermiculite + 30% rice hulls (70V+30CA), 40% vermiculite + 30% rice hulls + 30% coconut fiber (40V+30CA+30FC), 50% vermiculite + 30% rice hulls + 20% sand (50V+30CA+20A), 70% vermiculite + 15% bark carbonized rice + 15% vermicompost residue of textile industry (70V+15CA+15VC); four levels of shading (full sunlight (0%), 30, 50 and 70%) and three replications. We evaluated the following variables: absolute growth rate in height and diameter, survival, dry mass of leaves, stem and root, total dry mass, dry mass ratio of shoot and root dry weight, and leaf weight. The results show that the seedlings need shade Copaiba in its early stage of development, and the level of 50% shading a viable alternative for production of its seedlings. The seedlings grown in Copaiba 70V+30CA produced more total dry mass, while in Bioplant® inferior characteristics observed for dry weight of leaves, total dry weight and leaf weight.