Araucaria angustifolia decreases its growth ratio during the fall and winter in response to adverse environmental conditions such as in temperate fruits where bud dormancy as a survival startegy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of the respiratory activity of apical meristems of plagiotropic branches of Araucaria angustifolia. To determine the respiratory activity, samples with 0.4 g of apical buds of plagiotropic branches of young and adult plants were collected. These buds were maintained during two hours in 5 mL of 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (1.2%) in a growth room at 25 °C. Then, it was maintained during one hour in 4 mL of absolute ethyl alcohol and then the absorbance was determined by reading in spectrophotometer at 560 nm. The respiratory activity of apical meristems of plagiotropic branches of Araucaria angustifolia changed during the year, reducing in mid-spring and become lower in the winter in both young and adult plants. Adult plants remained with lower respiratory activity for a longer period, until the beginning of summer.
Parana-pine; plant physiology; cellular metabolism
