Agrometeorological conditions associated with phenological responses of tucumã-do-pará (Astrocaryum vulgare Mart.)

Abstract

Palms are among the class of hyperdominant species in the Amazon region, and for the tucumã palm (Astrocaryum vulgare Mart.) demand of climatic and phenological information in order to support strategic planning and sustainable management of this palm species native to the Amazon basin. The objective of this work was to evaluate agrometeorological conditions associated to phenological responses of tucumã as a species that has high economic potential for fruit pulp production. Meteorological data were collected during the period in which data were also collected for the phenology of the germplasm bank. Sensors were installed to monitor temperature and air relative humidity to where they are observed as phenophases. Analyses were conducted to identify the responses of the tucumã stems in function of agrometeorological conditions of the study area. Precipitation, thermal amplitude, and insolation showed positive correlations principally with respect to the percent of stems with bracts, inflorescences, or with fertilized inflorescences. In the fruiting phenological phase precipitation and air relative humidity influenced the percentage of stems with fruit clusters that were immature and also ones with mature clusters. High maximum temperatures compromise the expression of the percentage of stems with green fruit clusters. The tucumã stems were photosynthesizing and carrying out metabolic processes at a very high rate during the study period based on the high Normalized Difference Vegetation Index which was superior to 0.41 during the three years of this study. The tucumã phenological phases, demonstrating a strong positive association with insolation, maximum temperature and thermal amplitude.