ABSTRACT
The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of the water deficit on leaf rolling and expansion of corn cultivated in soils of different textures. The experiment was installed in an area of the Agricultural Engineering Department of the Federal University of Santa Maria. A set of 12 drainage lysimeters with dimensions of 1.56 m length, 1.00 m width and 0.80 m depth was used. A rain shelter was used to avoid precipitation on the experimental area. A completely randomized design, factorial (2x3), was used with two replications. Treatments consisted of two water management regimes (irrigated and terminal soil water deficit imposed during vegetative growth at 15 days after emergency (DAE) of maize plants of and three soil textural classes (clayey, loamy and sandy). Larger leaf rolling of corn plants submitted to water deficit was observed in clayey soil texture. A lesser reduction in leaf expansion was observed in corn plants cultivated in sandy soil and submitted to water deficit.
Key words:
water deficit; leaf rolling; leaf expansion; soil texture