## 3 Results and Discussion  
The purpose of this study was to expose, by means of a three-dimensional scatter plot and ANOVA, the complex effects of different doses of glyphosate on various parameters of cocoa seedling development. The treatments used in the research, with their respective doses, were the following: DO1 (0 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO2 (25 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO3 (50 g a.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO4 (80 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO5 (144 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO6 (288 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO7 (325 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO8 (432 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO9 (535 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO10 (625 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO11 (700 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO12 (768 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO13 (803 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)); DO14 (864 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)) and DO15 (904 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)). Three plants were treated for each treatment and the characteristics of each group were evaluated after the application of the doses. Multivariate Statistics for the Analysis of Photosynthetic Health and Biochemical Reaction of Seedlings  
Figure 1 expresses the three-dimensional scatter plot that relates to the patrons existing between the parameters of photosynthetic health and biochemical reaction. Plane 1, corresponding to the horizontal variable, represents the accumulation of shikimate; Plane 2, belonging to the vertical variable, denotes the quantum efficiency of PSII and Plane 3, corresponding to the depth variable, collects information about chlorophyll content. The Euclidean distance allowed us to quantify how far apart the different treatments are according to the combination of their effects on the plants. The graph reduced the complexity of the multivariate information and reflects the normal distribution of 15 points, concerning the number of treatments, around the three Cartesian coordinates (\(x,y\) and \(z\)). In this analysis, we observed that high concentrations of glyphosate, particularly from DO5 treatment, showed higher shikimate accumulation and lower chlorophyll content, contributing to lower quantum efficiency. On the other hand, lower concentrations of glyphosate, from DO1 to DO4, exhibited the highest ranges of PSII quantum efficiency and chlorophyll content. Plant performance responses were not perfectly positively correlated with applied doses, which may be attributed to the influence of other factors, such as genetic variability and the interaction of alleopathy-producing microorganisms, among others. Deterioration in quantum efficiency was found to be associated with a reduction in chlorophyll content, which implies a decrease in the plant's ability to capture and use light energy effectively. As a cluster analysis, it was determined that the DO4 (80 g e.e. ha\({}^{-1}\)) treatment was the one that showed the highest balance among the evaluated parameters, emphasizing the higher PSII quantum efficiency and the higher chlorophyll content. Similar studies showed that glyphosate can interfere with the enzyme EPSPS, which is essential for amino acid synthesis in plants, which could be a contributing factor to the observed effects on cocoa growth [27]. In another study, [PERSON] [28] indicated that the phytotoxic effect on tissues affects young leaves more due to the degree of increased shikimate in the tissues. The herbicidal activity of glyphosate lies in its ability to inhibit the EPSPS enzyme, blocking the shikimate pathway [29]. This pathway is essential for the biosynthesis of aromatic compounds in plants. In the study of [PERSON] et al. [30], shikimate was found to accumulate in glyphosate-resistant and glyphosate-sensitive Conyza canadensis plants. This phenomenon suggests that shikimate accumulation may not be directly related to glyphosate resistance, indicating that other mechanisms may be involved in the resistance of some plants to this herbicide [31]. For [PERSON] and [PERSON] [32], the quantum efficiency of photosynthesis, especially the PSII parameter (\(\Phi\)), is crucial to evaluate the response of plants to abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity and temperature extremes.