Produção de mudas e irrigação no campo: respostas estruturais e fisiológicas de Caryocar brasiliense Cambess

Abstract

Brazil, through the National Plan for Native Vegetation Recovery, aims to restore 12 million hectares by 2030, including APPs, legal reserves, and degraded areas. The recent Law 15.089/2025 strengthens the sustainable use of Pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Cambess) and other native Cerrado fruits, encouraging reforestation and commercial production. The growing demand for quality seedlings of this species highlights the need to understand the factors that influence their survival and growth in the field. Among these factors are the environmental conditions for seedling production and the use of irrigation in the field during the dry season in the Cerrado. The objective of this study was to evaluate the morphoanatomical and physiological changes over time in C. brasiliense seedlings grown under three conditions and planted with and without irrigation in the field. The greenhouse and full sun environment provide the best conditions for seedling growth in the nursery, but full sun conditions were superior in the field. Seedlings grown in full sun have greater amounts of trichomes, cuticle, and palisade parenchyma than those grown in other environments. Irrigation favors plant survival in the field by more than 80% in the first year after planting. The results demonstrate high morphoanatomical plasticity of C. brasiliense in relation to growing environments, with full sun producing higher-quality seedlings.