Influência de diferentes comprimentosde onda de luz no crescimento e análise do óleo essencial de três POACEAE

Abstract

Medicinal plants are cultivated for use in popular medicine, and in food, pharmaceutical and perfumes industry. New technology in mineral nutrition, irrigation, protected culture, as well as alterations in quality and intensity of exposure to light have been applied in the cultivation of medicinal plants. This present work aimed to assess the influence of the quality and intensity of lighting on different medicinal plants. Treatments consisted of citronella (Cymbopogon nardus L.), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus DC. Stapf) and vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides L. Nash) under different photo-converting filter colours (black, red and blue) as well as under plain sunlight. Medicinal plant seedlings were transplanted in SLAB type substrate and kept under the different treatments. Drip fertirrigation was carried out throughout treatment cycle. Assessments on plant growth, leaf anatomy, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, production and composition of the essential oil were performed on the 180th day. Plant height fared best results on cultivation under the red mesh. Plain sun favoured higher accumulation of dry biomass by the plants. Photo-converting promoted alterations on leaf anatomy in plants. Citronella and lemongrass plants, respectively, showed thinner leaf mesophylls when kept under the blue and red filters. The black filter mesh promoted greater leaf mesophylls on vetiver plants. Citronella leaves showed 1240 stomata/mm-2, vetiver 409 stomata/mm-2 and lemmongrass showed 806 stomata/mm-2. The highest contents of chlorophyll a and b were noticed on lemongrass plants cultivated under plain sunlight, while citronella plants fared higher chlorophyll rates when under black filter. Lower rates of chlorophyll were verified on vetiver under the black mesh. Medicinal plants cultivated under the red mesh as well as those cultivated under plain sunlight yielded the highest photo-synthetic rates. The highest essential oil yielding was obtained from plants growing under plain sunlight. The main compound found in citronella was citronellal with rates above 30%. Citral was the main constituent in the lemongrass essential oil, and muuroladieno, dehydro isolongifeno and muurolol were found in the vetiver plants. The photo-converting mesh pieces promoted morpho-physiological alterations on medicinal plants, as well as on the yielding and contents of their essential oil constituents.