Phenological growth and development stages of the native Patagonian fruit species Berberis buxifolia Lam.

Abstract

This work studied the phenological growth and development stages of Berberis buxifolia, a native Patagonian species, whose purple berries are of economic value. Data were recorded from a population of B. buxifolia adult plants, growing naturally near Ushuaia city, 54º48´SL, 68º19´WL (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina). The BBCH-scale has been adopted in this study, and the phenological stages were coded using two digits. Nine principal growth and development stages were recognized for the phenological description of B. buxifolia, starting with vegetative and mixed bud development (stage 0). The following four of them were assigned to the vegetative growth, which described leaf development on shoots (stage 1), shoot elongation (stage 3), development of plant propagation organs (stage 4) and partial senescence, beginning of dormancy (stage 9). The last four principal growth stages describe flower emergence (stage 5), flowering (stage 6), fruit development (stage 7) and maturity of fruit (stage 8).