Abstract
Paclobutrazol (PBZ) is a retardant often used in potted ornamental plants to control their growth and compactness. The distribution in plant, substrate and leachate of PBZ applied to containerized oleander seedlings were studied after a single liquid drench application to the substrate surface (20 mg a.i. per plant) in a nursery dedicated to pot production in SE Spain. PBZ significantly reduced all growth parameters, providing more compact plants of good commercial value and confirming its ability to reduce the vertical growth of native oleander in the nursery. The level of PBZ residues in leaves was higher at the end of pot cultivation (156 days post PBZ application) than at the first sampling time (30 days after PBZ application), whereas the level in stems decreased for the same period of time. PBZ residues in roots remained constant during the experimental period. The high level of PBZ residues detected in the substrate 30 days after application had decreased significantly (by 67%) by the end of the experiment. A greater leaching fraction was detected for PBZ-treated seedlings and so a greater amount of PBZ was leached into the nursery soil with the irrigation water at the end of the experiment. This greater amount of PBZ leached into the soil represents an important way of contamination in the nursery and a substantial risk to the environment.
Highlights
In Spain, nursery production and the marketing of containerized ornamental plants have undergone a huge increase in the last ten years, making a significant economic contribution to the horticulture sector
In 2005 over 245 million ornamental plants were produced in Spain (MAPA, 2006)
Oleander (Nerium oleander L.) is a native plant of the Mediterranean regions widely grown as a drought-adapted shrub in landscape designs and as a flowering pot plant
Summary
In Spain, nursery production and the marketing of containerized ornamental plants have undergone a huge increase in the last ten years, making a significant economic contribution to the horticulture sector. The application of plant growth retardants during nursery production has become an extensive practice in horticulture. PBZ has demonstrated its usefulness for controlling traits of agronomic interest in several crops including cereals, vegetables, fruit trees and ornamentals (Greene, 2002; Rademacher and Bucci, 2002). Among these traits PBZ is used for reducing the size of plants, improving compactness (Bañón et al, 2001), and for its ability to resist abiotic stresses (Bañón et al, 2006). In oleander pot production PBZ is used to reduce its strong stem elongation (Bañón et al, 2001) and to advance flowering (Singh et al, 2004)
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