Acclimatization of micropropagated plantlets of Coffea canephora

Abstract

Coffea canephora is the predominant species in the state of Rondônia, due to its adaptation to soil and climatic conditions in the region. The acclimatization comprises a set of techniques and procedures that are designed to adapt plantlets to field conditions, heterotrophic to autotrophic condition. This work aimed to evaluate conditions of acclimatization of plantlets of C. canephora in relation to the initial stages of seedling development, levels of shading and acclimatization period. In the first experiment, we used three stages of micropropagated plants: "torpedoes", "sprouted" and "seedling" and two levels of shading, 30 and 50% in 3 x 2 factorial. The plants were weighed and placed individually in cells containing the trays Plantmax®. After 30 days, there was survival, plant length, leaf number and fresh weight. The second experiment evaluated three periods of acclimatization at 30, 45 and 60 days, after the seedlings were transferred to field conditions in plastic bags. After 90 days of the deployment of the experiment, there was survival, plant length, leaf number and the ratio between initial and final weight of the seedlings. The developmental stage "seedlings" resulted in increased survival and plant development stages in relation to "torpedo" and "sprouted." The shading of 50% resulted in increased survival and plant growth than 30%. The acclimatization period of 30 days did not differ significantly from the periods of 45 and 60 days, the most suited for this application.