SOUZA, I. V.; SOUZA, Iaponira Vieira de.
Resumo:
A study wascarry out in the Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuária do Trópico Semi-Árido (CPATSA), in Petrolina-PE, to characterize seeds and seedlings from different varieties of Leucaena leucocephala (LAM) de Wit. The size, moisture content, weight of a thousand seeds, germination power, emergence and speed of emergence of seeds of the varieties k4, k6, k8, k28, k62, k72 and Local were determined. To study the behavior of seedlings in the nursery, the design adopted was randomized blocks, with the seven varieties as treatment. The plots were square with 36 seedlings, being evaluated in height, stem diameter, root length, dry and green weight of the root system, dry and green weight of the stem and position of the first leaf with two pairs of pinna, only 16 central plants . The results obtained for the study of seeds showed that the varieties k4, k6 and Local were smaller, presenting, respectively, 23691, 22465 and 20351 seeds per kilo. As for the varieties, there were no differences between the germination and emergence percentages, however k62 presented the lowest emergence speed index, differing from the other varieties. In nursery, evaluation at 50 days after sowing, the highest height was observed in k6 with 6.70 cm, not statistically differing from k4 and Local, both with measures equal to 6.13 cm. The smallest height was observed in k8 with 4.93 cm. No statistical differences were detected for stem diameter, root length, dry and green stem weight and root system between the varieties under study. As for the botanical aspect, the varieties k8, k28 and k72 had the highest number of plants, whose first leaf with two pairs of pinna appeared before leaf number 5, starting from leaf 1, which is pinnate.
