The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of field capacity (FC) on the growth rate of the conilon coffee plant by using three tensions (0.006 MPa (FC1), 0.010 MPa (FC2) and 0.033 MPa (FC3)) in two soils (Red-Yellow Oxisol and Red-Yellow Ultisol). The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse at the Center of Studies and Technology Dissemination in Forestry, Water Resources and Sustainable Agriculture, in the municipality of JerBnimo Monteiro-ES. Plants of Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner, variety Robusta Tropical (EMCAPER 8151), were cultivated in 12 L containers for 255 days. Growth analyses were carried out 15 days after transplanting and at the end of the experiment total dry matter and leaf area were determined. The soil moisture level in the field capacity varied as a function of the tension chosen for its determination. The highest rates of relative and absolute growth of Conilon coffee plants were obtained when the soil moisture was kept close to the field capacity determined at 0.010 MPa in the Red-Yellow Oxisol and at 0.006 MPa in the Red-Yellow Ultisol. The lowest growth rates of the crop were found in the field capacity determined at 0.033 MPa, making it unfeasible to the use in the estimation of the irrigation sheet with the Richard's pressure plate apparatus.
Coffee plant; plant growth; soil moisture