INITIAL GROWTH OF JATROPHA SUBMITTED TO DIFFERENT WATER

Considering the potential of using jatropha plant, with decent but lacking in studies on the management of thesame with regard to fertilization and use of available water resources in this study aims to evaluate the responseof the growth variables of jatropha according to levels of available soil water and nitrogen. We adopted theexperimental design of randomized blocks, in which the treatments were arranged in factorial (4 x 4) with fourreplications and one plant per plot (vessel), the factors being four doses of nitrogen N1= 0 (control), N2= 60,N3= 120 and N4= 180 kg ha-1 of (NH4)SO4, and four soil water levels L1= 100, L2= 80, L3= 60 and L4= 40%of available water, resulting in 64 installments. The levels of available soil water treatments were establishedthrough the use of tensiometers. In all cases there was significant interaction between the two factors. It wasobserved that the highest estimates for the growth variables (plant height and leaf area) were influenced intreatments with the highest rates of nitrogen and the highest level of water in the soil studied.