GROWTH OF ACACIA-FARNESIANA (L) WILLD IN A GREENHOUSE

Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd., ''coronha''- Leguminosae - Mimosoideae, is a woody bush of the semiarid Brasilian Northeast. The growth of yo ung plants was analyzed as a function of lengthening and dry weight of the different organs in a greenhouse for an experimentai period of th ree months. After one month of adaptation (a daily water supply of 150 ml), the plants were submitted to thIee treatments: 150 mi of water ( T-I), 75 mi of water (T-II) and water deprivation (T-III). The root/st em growth ratio for T-III, with water deprivation, was of the order of 2: 1 throughout the entire experiment. In treatments I and II, with r egular water supplies, the ratio was of the order 1: 1. Treatment I an d II showed a marked increase in total leaf area up to 90 days; in tre atment III, there was a drastic reduction after 60 days, differing fro m treatments II and III until the end of the experiment. The productio n of dry matter in the different vegetative organs was more marked in treatments I and II. In treatment III, the dry weight of the aerial pa rt (stem + leaves) differed from root dry weight by the order of 2: 1.