Perda dos cotilédones em diferentes épocas no crescimento inicial do feijoeiro

The objective of this work was to analyze the effect of cotyledon loss at diff erent times of initial bean growth. The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial scheme of 2x5, seedlings with zero and one cotyledon, interacting with fi ve extraction stages: zero, one, two, four, and six days after germination, with fi ve replicates composed of three seedlings. After 15 days, the following parameters were evaluated: mean root and shoot length; mean stem diameter; leaf area; total shoot and root dry mass; phloem and xylem diameter; and thickness of abaxial and adaxial epidermis. Removing cotyledons during the initial development of the bean plant infl uenced all the parameters evaluated in this work, except the mean diameter of the stem with one cotyledon. The removal of cotyledons in the fi rst days of extractions hinders the initial development of the plant, as well as making it more susceptible to the environment.