Abstract
The objective of this study was to comparatively determine the characteristics of growth rate, leaf area index, shoot dry mass partitioning and grain yield of chia plants (Salvia hispanica L.) on different sowing dates. A field experiment was conducted in the crop year of 2016/2017 in five sowing dates (09/22/16, 10/28/16, 01/03/17, 02/08/17 and 03/24/17) with a randomized complete block design and four replicates. Plant growth was determined through field samplings to determine the dry matter mass and leaf area performed every 15 days. The following physiological indexes were calculated: relative growth rate, absolute growth rate, net assimilation rate, leaf area ratio, specific leaf area and leaf mass ratio. To weekly evaluate plant height, ten plants per plot were marked after emergence, and the final height was considered when plants reached physiological maturity. A useful area of 2.10 m² per plot was collected for evaluating grain yield. The physiological indexes indicated that at earlier sowing dates there is a greater plant growth, either in shoot dry matter mass, height and leaf area index. The leaf area index of branches is progressively increased with plant development and contributes significantly to total leaf area index of chia plants in all studied sowing dates. The main stem represents between 60 and 70% of the shoot dry matter accumulated in the early sowing dates, and between 40 and 50% in late sowing. The best sowing date in terms of grain yield is 01/03/17.
Highlights
Plant growth can be defined as the irreversible increase in some of its physical dimensions followed by a combination of cell division and expansion (Benincasa, 2004)
The growth analysis requires information gathered through several physiological indexes, with the most used ones being the relative growth rate, the absolute growth rate, the net assimilation rate, the leaf area index, the specific leaf area, the leaf area ratio and the leaf mass ratio
Chia plants were exposed to different conditions of air temperature, photoperiod, solar radiation and rainfall (Figure 1)
Summary
Plant growth can be defined as the irreversible increase in some of its physical dimensions followed by a combination of cell division and expansion (Benincasa, 2004). The growth analysis requires information gathered through several physiological indexes, with the most used ones being the relative growth rate, the absolute growth rate, the net assimilation rate, the leaf area index, the specific leaf area, the leaf area ratio and the leaf mass ratio. These variables are directly related to the amount of dry matter mass contained in the whole plant and in its parts (Benincasa, 2004). The final plant height is a measure of the vegetative growth that supports the evaluation of the final plant growth and the definition of better growing conditions (Zanon et al, 2016)
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