Turmeric is a species originated from India with a great potential in dye, medicine and food markets. This experiment was carried out at the Universidade Federal de Lavras, Brazil, with the objective of evaluating the response of the plant to factors such as time and planting densities, by means of characterizing the phenological stages. The period of vegetative growth was determined at the pre-tillering and tillering stages. The slow growth of the aerial part, in the first stage, was influenced significantly by the time of planting, independently of the treatment used. The tillering stage showed increased biomass accumulation, due to the contribution of the tillers. The period of growth of the rhizomes was greatly influenced by the time of planting. Shorter periods of growth were associated with late plantings. The extension of the growth period were 147, 124, 102 and 79 days for the plantings done in every 20th day of October, November, December and January, corresponded to a total plant cycle of 270, 240, 210 and 180 days, respectively. A significant effect of the factor density of planting was only observed during the period of vegetative growth, being short vegetative growth associated to higher plant densities.
Curcuma longa; genotype x ambient; phenology; natural dye
