Acclimation to sun and shade of three accessions of the Chilean native berry-crop murta |
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Authors: | Nicolás Franck Sylvia Winkler Claudio Pastenes Rodrigo Infante |
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Institution: | (1) Departamento de Producción Agrícola, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Universidad de Chile, Casilla, 1004 Santiago, Chile |
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Abstract: | Murta (Ugni molinae Turcz.) is an evergreen shrub of the native forest understorey of southern Chile that produces berries which are consumed
in the local markets. Because of the natural adaptation of murta to growing under the shade of trees, we propose that an adequate
way of domesticating this species would be its cultivation in agroforestry systems. In order to assess the suitability of
three murta accessions from different regions in southern Chile for their cultivation in such systems, we established a trial
in which these accessions were submitted to six light transmittance levels (20%–100% of full solar irradiance) from planting
in spring to the following autumn. Optimum growth, as assessed through dry mass accumulation and emission of branches and
metamers, was achieved at moderate light transmittance levels (50%–65%). These growth traits showed stable positive responses
to the relative amount of light intercepted by the plants (as estimated from plant structural traits) up to these optimum
light transmittance levels and diverged to lower values thereafter. These stable relationships suggest that the differences
in plant growth at low and moderate light transmittance levels can be attributed to restrictions of photosynthesis by light
availability. The reduction in growth for higher light transmittance levels may be partly attributed to photoinhibition as
suggested by reduced chlorophyll content and relatively low increments in carotenoid content in leaves at high light transmittance
levels. |
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Keywords: | Carotenoids Chlorophyll Vegetative growth Light transmittance Light interception Southern Chile Ugni molinae |
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