Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) plants present reduction in dry matter accumulation when grown at high levels of ammonium in the soil solution. The reason for that still remains to be determined. The present research was carried out in order to evaluate the influence of nitrate and ammonium on aspects related to photosynthesis and the concentration of nitrogen compounds of cassava plants. Cultivar Cigana Preta plants were grown in nutritive solution with sand as substrate. Treatments consisted of three ratios of NO3-:NH4+, in mM (12:0, 6:6, e 0:12). Plants grown only on NO3- or NO3- + NH4+ did not show differences in photosynthetic rates, but reduction of them were observed for NH4+ as the only nitrogen source. Stomatal conductance of plants grown on nitrate was 0.49mol m-2s-1 and three times less for plants grown only on ammonium (0.16mol m-2s-1). There were no significant differences in leaf concentration of free ammonium among treatments, suggesting no direct toxic effect of ammonium on photosynthesis. Protein concentration was higher for plants grown only on ammonium. The results strongly suggest that the lower dry matter accumulation of cassava plants grown just on ammonium is due, among other factors, to its effect on photosynthetic activity, mainly because of its negative influence on stomatal conductance.
CO2 assimilation; nitrogen; proteins; transpiration; water use efficiency
