Amazon chicory: growing at full sunlight or under shade?

ABSTRACT Climatic factors can decisively influence the growth and productivity of agricultural crops. For unconventional vegetables, such as the Amazon chicory, the influence of sunlight on growing cycle is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of shading levels on the productive performance of Amazon chicory. The authors used a randomized block design, with four treatments and five replicates. The treatments were black polypropylene screens, 30, 50 and 70% shading, and cultivation at full sunlight. Vegetative development and production traits were evaluated. Correlation and principal components analysis (PCA) were performed with the aid of the computer program R. No significant difference between the shading levels for the evaluated traits was noticed. Nevertheless, the cultivation at full sunlight allowed an increase in production, compared to the 70% shading screen. A strong positive correlation between productivity, leaf fresh mass and amount of water in the shoot area was verified, with a coefficient equal to 1. Only the leaf area characteristic was poorly correlated with other traits (angle >90º). Therefore, we suggest growing the Amazon chicory both at full sunlight and under 70% shading.