Response of Schizolobium parahyba seedlings to water stress

The objective of this study was to identify the response mechanisms to water stress Schizolobium parahyba Vell. Blake seedlings. At 90 days after emergency the plants were subjected to 10 days of water deficit, then they were irrigated with different percentages of evapotranspiration (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%) for ten more days. In the initial stage of development, seedlings of Schizolobium parahyba were partially tolerant to the caused water deficit. They presented dehydration delay as a strategy, reducing growth in height, diameter and number of leaves and directing the production of photoassimilates for maintenance, with low transpiration rate.