Factors that explain the number of leaves in plants of "feijão-bravo" (Capparis flexuosa L.) in the Cariri Region of Paraiba State - Brazil.

This work aimed to estimate the phenotypic correlation coefficients and to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of these correlations (path analysis). It was studied the effect of the explanatory independent variables tiller number, stem diameter, and stem length on the main dependent variable leaf number of “Capparis flexuosa” plants during two evaluation periods in the Cariri region of Paraiba State, Brazil. There were significant differences between the evaluated periods for the studied variables. Tiller number during the dry season and stem length during the rainy season explained best the leaf number, acting respectively in a direct and inversely proportional way on the main variable, changing according to the environmental conditions during the growth period. The results allowed the conclusion that tiller number exerts great influence on leaf number in both evaluation periods. keywords: native forage, Caatinga, correlation, leaf number