ABSTRACT
Growth and photosynthetic pigments of Licania tomentosa, Syzygium cumini, and Tabebuia serratifolia seedlings under different wavelengths

Giovana P.V. da Silva1, Tamiris D. Santana1, Carolina G. Domingues1, Jessica de O. Gonçalves1, Pérlla T.A. Silva1, Thaise Dantas2, Edilson Costa1*, Flávio F. da S. Binotti1, Eduardo P. Vendruscolo1, and Gustavo H. da C. Vieira1
 
Licania tomentosa (Benth.) Fritsch, Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels,and Tabebuia serratifolia (Vahl) G. Nicholson are commonly used in urban landscaping, particularly in public squares, major avenues, and parks. Therefore, producing and developing high-quality seedlings of these species is paramount. This study evaluated the growth and photosynthetic pigments of L. tomentosa, S. cumini, and T. serratifolia seedlings under different wavelengths generated by colored cultivation benches. The cultivation benches assessed included glossy blue, red, white, and yellow surfaces and a control treatment without any colored material. The wavelengths reflected by these colored surfaces positively influenced the growth and quality of L. tomentosa, S. cumini, and T. serratifolia seedlings, as well as the photosynthetic pigments of T. serratifolia. For producing high-quality L. tomentosa seedlings, blue, white, and yellow cultivation benches, particularly the white and yellow, proved most effective, which increased quality by 16% and 21%, respectively. The different wavelengths did not enhance the photosynthetic pigment content of L. tomentosa and S. cumini seedlings. For S. cumini, the yellow cultivation bench yielded the best biometric quality, followed by the blue bench, which increased quality by 22% and 14%, respectively. In the case of T. serratifolia, colored cultivation benches, especially red, white, and yellow, resulted in superior seedling quality, which increase7d quality by 11%, 15%, and 14%, respectively. Moreover, the light spectra provided by the blue, white, and yellow cultivation benches increased the concentration of photosynthetic pigments in T. serratifolia seedlings, which increased total chlorophyll by 55%, 103% and 51%, respectively.
Keywords: Colored cultivation benches, reflected photosynthetically active radiation, reflective material, seedling quality.
1Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Departamento de Agronomia, Cassilândia, Mato Grosso, Brasil.
2Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados, Departamento de Agronomia, Dourados, Mato Grosso, Brasil.
*Corresponding author (edilson.costa@uems.br).