EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT SUBSTRATES ON GROWTH OF TULIP BULBS UNDER RING CULTURE

Abstract

To assess the suitability of different substrates for tulip bulb production a trial was carried out, under greenhouse, at Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture, between October 2005 and July 2006. Bottomless containers (3 L. volume) were used for tulip ring culture, cvs. ‘Queen of the Night’ and ‘Negrita’, in order to evaluate the performance of pumice, perlite, sand, coir (coconut fiber) and peat on plant growth (number of leaves and plant height), main bulb size (length and diameter) and weight, number of secondary bulbs, and total weight of bulbs. Although there were differences among cultivars for all studied variables except total bulb weight, no significant differences between substrates were found regarding plant growth parameters – number of leaves and plant height –, nor for most of the variables related to bulb production – main bulb diameter and weight. Nevertheless significant differences were found regarding main bulb length – ranging from 3.3 cm to 3.9 cm – and the number of daughter bulbs which ranged between 2.8 and 3.7. Results show that soilless techniques such as ring culture can be successfully applied to produce tulip bulbs.