Crescimento de plantas de bertalha cultivadas em diferentes ambientes de luz

Abstract

The bertalha (Basella alba L.) is a PANC (non-conventional food plants), with high nutritional value and great food and economic potential. Among the factors that influence plant growth, light stands out as one of the most important, as it acts directly on physiological processes and the use of photoselective meshes aims to combine the physical protection of plants with the selective filtering of solar radiation to promote desirable physiological responses in growth. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the growth of bertalha plants under different light environments. The experiment was carried out in the greenhouse of the Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia, in a completely randomized design with plots consisting of one useful plant and replications. The plants were grown in three light environments: red ChromatiNet mesh, aluminet thermoreflective mesh (both with 50% irradiance) and in full sun (control treatment). Among the parameters evaluated, it was observed that bertalha plants cultivated in shaded environments responded to the modification of the light spectrum provided by the meshes. The cultivation of bertalha under red mesh promoted an increase in root dry mass and stem diameter. The aluminet mesh favored a higher average number of leaves, with about 50% more than those grown under full sun. The results show that the cultivation of bertalha, in light environments, promotes morphophysiological changes, and positive increases in its growth can be noticed.