R E S U M OOs índices morfofisiológicos e parâmetros de eficiência do uso de radiação foram determinados para a cana-de-açúcar irrigada, RB92579. O experimento foi conduzido no município de Juazeiro-BA, Semiárido brasileiro. Foram obtidas medições de biomassa seca acumulada pelas folhas, colmos e total da parte aérea, e do índice de área foliar. Adicionalmente, dados de radiação solar global e de radiação fotossinteticamente ativa foram medidos acima e abaixo do dossel da cultura. Por meio desses dados foram calculados os índices morfofisiológicos, a fração da radiação fotossinteticamente ativa (f RFA ), o coeficiente de extinção (ke), o uso eficiente de radiação (UER) e a eficiência fotossintética (EFT
Morphophysiological Indices and Radiation Use by an Irrigated Sugarcane Crop in the Brazilian Semi-Arid A B S T R A C TThe morphphysiological indices and parameters of radiation use efficiency were determined for irrigated sugarcane, RB92579 cultivar. The experiment was carried out in the district of Juazeiro, State of the Bahia, located in the Brazilian semi-arid. Measurements of dry biomass accumulated by leaves, stalk and total shoot, and leaf area index (LAI) were carried out. Additionally, global solar radiation and photosynthetic active radiation were measured above and below the crop canopy. Using these data, morphphysiological indices, the photosynthetic active radiation fraction (f PAR ), the extinction coefficient (ke), the radiation efficient use (REU) and the photosynthetic efficiency (PTE) were calculated. The absolute growth rate tended to increase substantially until reaching the maximum value of 41.8 g m -2 d -1 , which was observed 200 days after cutting (DAC). The maximum value of the f PAR was around 99%, remaining constant from 213 DAC until the end of the crop cycle. The magnitude of the ke parameter was 0.72. Based on measurements of DBTS, it was verified that the approximate values of the PTE and REU were 2.67 g MJ -1 and 1.29 g MJ -1 , respectively. Results showed that the irrigated sugarcane has excellent growth patterns when cultivated under semi-arid conditions when compared to others environments cited in literature.