Production of Cojoba arborea (L.) Britton & Rose seedlings on different substrates and levels of shading

Abstract

The species Cojoba arborea is a plant of the Fabaceae family traditionally used in urban afforestation and recovery of degraded areas. Information on the proper environment for the production of seedlings of this legume is scarce, especially the adequate level of luminosity and type of substrate ideal for its initial development. Thus, the objective of this work was to determine the type of substrate and luminous gradient suitable for the development of Cojoba arborea in the environmental conditions of the state of Acre. The statistical design was completely randomized, organized in a 3 x 2 factorial scheme with 10 repetitions. The variables analyzed at 100 days after sowing were the diameter of the seedling collection, shoot length, shoot dry matter, root dry matter, total dry mass and Dickson's quality index. The results showed that the full sun environment, combined with commercial substrate, promotes seedlings with the best quality indicators.