GROWTH ANALYSIS OF CHAMAECHRISTA-CHAMAECHRISTOIDES (LEGUMINOSAE) UNDER CONTRASTING NUTRIENT CONDITIONS

Abstract

Seedlings of Chamaechrista chamaechristoides, a tropical sand dune colonizing species in the Gulf of Mexico, were used in a glasshouse experiment to determine the growth responses to different nutrient supplies. The plants were grown for 140 days under constant and pulsed nutrient conditions, in which the amount of nutrients added was the same, although with differences in time of application. A functional growth analysis, with 5 harvests, revealed consistent differences among treatments in biomass gain but not in relative growth rates. Root to shoot ratio was inflexible and independent of the nutrient conditions, values obtained for this parameter were always greater than one. No significant differences in response were associated with nutrient pulse treatment.