Phenotypic plasticity of Baccharis genistelloides subsp. crispa (Spreng.) Joch. Müll. (2006) – Asteraceae – under organic management.
SOUSA, L.A; GRATÃO, A.S; LEITE, M.N; ANDRADE, F.M.C; CECON, P.R; FREITAS, G.B
ABSTRACT:
Phenotypic plasticity of Baccharis genistelloides subsp. crispa (Spreng.) Joch. Müll. (2006) – Asteraceae – under organic management. This study looked at organic production, in addition to the use of homeopathic preparations, in order to increase biomass and flavonoid content in dioecious plants of Baccharis genistelloides. The adopted treatments were: water control, control with 70% alcohol, Phosphorus 12CH, Sulphur 6CH and a combination of them. Phenotypic changes were recorded for the growth analysis, performed biweekly for 60 days, of the morphological features, such as height, number of branches, length of the main branch, diameter of the stem and median stem wing. At harvest, we measured the fresh/dry phytomass and root volume. Subsequently, we quantified the content of total flavonoids according to the analyses required by the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia. The experiment was evaluated in a randomized block design, and its averages were evaluated by the Tukey’s test and environmental variation coefficient to estimate plasticity. As for the study of plant growth over time, there was a simple linear increase for most of the variables in both genders. We could detect phenotypic plasticity traits in most features analyzed. According to these results in both genders, 60 days after inoculation are sufficient to obtain raw material with acceptable level of flavonoids, as well as pathogenesis and similar effects in the application of homeopathic preparations of Phosphorus 12CH, Sulphur 6CH and their combination. Phytomass and content of total flavonoids were similar between the dioecious plants during the study period.
Keywords: agroecology, biomass, phytotechny, flavonoid, plant homeopathy.