Physical-Anatomical and Initial Growth of Tabebuia roseoalba (Ridl.) under Different Water Regimes

The present work evaluated the physical-anatomical and initial growth of Tabebuia roseoalba seedlings exposed to different water regimes. The seedlings were grown under 100, 50, 25 and 12.5% of the water retention capacity (WRC). After 90 days, the following aspects were evaluated: height, diameter, fresh and dry weights of aerial and root, root length, and leaf area, Dickson quality index, liquid assimilation rate, relative growth rate, specific leaf area, stomatal index, and number of trichomes and leaf epidermal cells. The results indicated seedlings have greater initial growth and quality when cultivated at 100% WRC, and 25 and 12.5% WRC represented stress conditions for the plants. The species is hypostomatous with anomocytic stomata. The number of stomata, the stomatal index, and the number of epidermal cells did diminish with reduced water availability. The number of trichomes were larger on the adaxial face as water availability decreased.