Studies on the vegetative development of cassava grown in subtropical conditions of Brazil are scarce. The objective of this study was to determine the phyllochron and the final leaf number on the main stem and on sympodial branches of a cassava variety grown in different planting dates in a subtropical climate. A field experiment was conducted in Santa Maria, RS, with four planting dates: 09/26/2006, 10/18/2006, 11/08/2006 and 11/28/2006. The variety FEPAGRO RS13, with tricotomic growth habit, was used in a complete randomized design with four treatments (planting dates) and four 4.0 x 9.0m plots with five rows and 0.8 x 0.8m spacing in each planting date. On the main stem (MS) and on the first order (BR1) and second order (BR2) sympodial branches of six plants per plot randomly selected, the number of visible leaves (NL) on a weekly basis, and the final leaf number (FLN) were measured. The phyllochron on MS, BR1 and BR2 was estimated by the inverse of the slope of the linear regression of NL against accumulated thermal time, assuming a base temperature of 14°C. Phyllochron increased in the sequence MS<BR1<BR2 and the FLN showed an inverse trend MS>BR1>BR2. Both phyllochron and FLN varied according to planting date, with photoperiod being a possible cause of such variation. Within BR1 and BR2 sympodial branches, phyllochron and FLN were not different among stems.
phyllochron; leaf number; leaf appearance; degreedays; Manihot esculenta
