Water relations in a coffee grove planted with grevilleas in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

This study was carried out in order to evaluate the physiological effects of silk-oak plants (Grevillea robusta A. Cunn.) arranged in rows within coffee groves (Coffea arabica L.) at Capinal, a village near the city of Vitória da Conquista, BA, Brazil. Four treatments were defined by distances of zero, four, eight, and twelve meters between coffee plants row and silk-oak plants, with six replicates in a randomized block design. The following traits were evaluated: specific leaf area (SLA), relative water content (RWC), leaf proline (PRO), and soil moisture (SM). Samplings were made every two months from 1999 to 2002. Leaves from the middle part of coffee plants in each plot were collected to evaluate PRO, RWC, and SLA. Soil samples were collected at 0-10, 10-20, 20-30cm deep, on the crown projection area, and between coffee rows for SM analysis. Data obtained were submitted to the analysis of variance and regression analysis. Linear decreases in SLA were observed in the periods evaluated according to the distances among coffee and silk-oak plants. No model was estalished for RWC during 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 periods. There was a direct relation between PRO and the distances from the silk-oak trees row on all periods evaluated. SM decreased in all depths between coffee plant rows, as a function of the distances between coffee plants and silk-oak plants.