CROP WATER STRESS INDEX OF COWPEA UNDER DIFFERENT WATER AVAILABILITY LEVELS IN CASTANHAL-PA

ABSTRACT Cowpea is a crop of great socioeconomic relevance for the populations of the North and Northeast of the country, and its low yield is commonly related to environmental stresses, especially water. The objective of this study was to evaluate the water stress index of cowpea, cultivar BR3 - Tracuateua, subjected to different irrigation levels (100, 50, 25 and 0% of ETc) in three reproductive phenological stages (R7, R8 and R9) in Castanhal-PA, Brazil. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with six replications and four treatments corresponding to 100, 50, 25 and 0% of daily replacement of crop evapotranspiration, during the reproductive period, through an irrigation system. The surface temperature readings were made with infrared thermometer, during the reproductive stage. The smallest absolute temperature differences between canopy and air occurred in stages R7 and R8. The highest values of water stress index (CWSI) were verified when the plant was under water deficit, regardless of phenological stages. The effect of water deficit caused reductions in stomatal conductance of 58.82% (R7), 83.57% (R8) and 84.87% (R9), in leaf transpiration of 45.97% (R7), 64.21% (R8) and 65.90% (R9) and in the net photosynthetic rate of 40.75% (R7), 66.92% (R8) and 74% (R9). The CWSI varied with the availability of water, showing the highest value (0.75) in the treatment without irrigation, in the R8 stage. The CWSI proved to be a good indicator of the water status of the plant. RESUMO O feijão-caupi é uma cultura de grande relevância socioeconômica para as populações do Norte e Nordeste do país, e seu baixo rendimento está comumente relacionado a estresses ambientais, em especial ao hídrico. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o índice de estresse hídrico do feijão-caupi da cultivar BR3 -Tracuateua, submetido a diferentes níveis de irrigação (100, 50, 25 e 0% da ETc) em três estádios fenológicos reprodutivos (R7, R8 e R9), em Castanhal-PA, Brasil. O desenho experimental foi em blocos casualizados, com seis repetições e quatro tratamentos correspondentes a 100, 50, 25 e 0% de reposição diária da evapotranspiração da cultura, durante o período reprodutivo, por meio de um sistema de irrigação. As leituras de temperatura da superfície foram feitas com termômetro infravermelho, durante a fase reprodutiva. As menores diferenças absolutas de temperatura entre o dossel e o ar ocorreram nas fases R7 e R8. Os maiores valores de índice de estresse hídrico (IEHD) for