Caracterização agronômica e fenológica de genótipos de tungue (Aleurites fordii Hemsl).

Abstract

The tung tree (Aleurites fordii) plant belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, adapted to temperate climate, it needs about 350 to 400 chilling hours (below 7.2°C) for vegetative and flower buds differentiation. This species is cultivated in order to produce oil which has a very important feature that is quick drying and is widely used in industrial paints and resins. It could also be used as an ornamental plant. Despite being present in the State for over 50 years, information about the behavior of the tung tree are recent. Therefore objective of this study was to evaluate the phenology and determine agronomic traits of interest in clones and tung genotypes in Rio Grande do Sul State. The morphological, phenological and productive characteristics were evaluated in three consecutive harvests. The results showed variability of interest to the characteristics evaluated. There were genotypes with high yield potential and morphology suitable for commercial production and genotypes with landscaping potential. There were no differences between the clones tested in different locations and years for the morphological and phenological characteristics, though there was interaction between clone x location. Clones showed different behavior in different locations for productivity traits.The tung tree (Aleurites fordii) plant belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, adapted to temperate climate, it needs about 350 to 400 chilling hours (below 7.2°C) for vegetative and flower buds differentiation. This species is cultivated in order to produce oil which has a very important feature that is quick drying and is widely used in industrial paints and resins. It could also be used as an ornamental plant. Despite being present in the State for over 50 years, information about the behavior of the tung tree are recent. Therefore objective of this study was to evaluate the phenology and determine agronomic traits of interest in clones and tung genotypes in Rio Grande do Sul State. The morphological, phenological and productive characteristics were evaluated in three consecutive harvests. The results showed variability of interest to the characteristics evaluated. There were genotypes with high yield potential and morphology suitable for commercial production and genotypes with landscaping potential. There were no differences between the clones tested in different locations and years for the morphological and phenological characteristics, though there was interaction between clone x location. Clones showed different behavior in different locations for productivity traits.