The study was conducted in order to evaluate the performance of two corn cultivars (m(-2)1 and B-l06) grown under water stress during the vegetative and reproductive growth stages. The investigation was carried out under greenhouse conditions and the experimental design consisted of entirely randomized blocks, with four replicates and the following treatments: (a) control (100% of available water), (b) plants with 75% of available water, (c) plants with 50% of available water and (d) plants subjected to permanent wilting point. The water stress affected the vegetative growth stages by decreasing the relative water content, the leaf area, and dry weight of the roots and shoots. During the reproductive growth stage the treatments also affected these parameters except the dry weight of roots, and the cultivar BR-106 was more tolerant to water stress during both growth stages.
water available; evaluation; phenological stage
