Jatropha curcas L. has been prominent in the scenario of biodiesel due to the percentage of oil contained in the seeds and its adaptive capacity. The cultivation of J. curcas in the country has as proposal the agronomic development and its consortium may be important for small producers. This study aimed to characterize the phenological behavior of J. curcas grown under different light conditions, full sun and 50% shade, relating them to the climatic seasonality, comparing their development with chlorophyll a fluorescence and gas exchange. Plants showed vegetative growth with seasonal pattern, with growth peak at the beginning of March, when the leaf senescence began. The analysis of the kinetic of the transient fluorescence of chlorophyll presented a relationship between certain parameters of the test JIP and the environmental fluctuations. The PI ABS and the PItotal demonstrated that in the shaded treatment plants were sensitive to luminosity reduction. The liquid assimilation rate and the carboxylation efficiency decreased throughout the experiment, accompanying the decline of the solar radiation. J. curcas plants respond negatively to these shaded conditions.
Jatropha curcas L.; chlorophyll a fluorescence; development
