Emergence and development of Dianthus chinensis and Limonium sinuatum seedlings on commercial substrate

Talita De Oliveira São José,Regina Maria Monteiro De Castilho,Maximiliano Kawahata Pagliarini,Raíssa Pereira Dinalli Gazola,Patrick Luan Ferreira Dos Santos

doi:10.33448/rsd-v10i11.19143

Talita De Oliveira São José, Regina Maria Monteiro De Castilho + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v10i11.19143

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Abstract

Limonium sinuatum and Dianthus chinensis are plant species of great importance in Brazilian floriculture, being propagated by seed, therefore, the characteristics of the substrates used are respectable in seedlings emergence and development process. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate the influence of two commercial substrates on emergence and development of Limonium sinuatum and Dianthus chinensis seedlings. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse (Pad & Fan type) at São Paulo State University. The treatments were: T1 – Basaplant® and T2 – Tropstrato®, for both species, whose seeds were germinated in expanded polystyrene trays of 128 cells, being eight replicates, containing 8 seeds/replicate. The evaluated traits were: percentage of emergence, emergence speed index, mean emergence time, shoot height, root length and seedlings fresh and dry mass. The substrate characteristics evaluated were: pH, electrical conductivity, macroporosity, microporosity, total porosity, density and water retention capacity. The experimental design was completely randomized, and data were submitted to analysis of variance to Tukey test at 5% to compare the means. The emergence of Limonium sinuatum and Dianthus chinensis were impaired, possibly due to low electrical conductivity provided by substrates. However, Basaplant® substrate favoured the development of evaluated species in relation to aerial part length, root length and total fresh and dry mass, which is recommended for using as substrate for both species.

Highlights

The consumption of ornamental plants in Brazil has increased over the past few years, as the country had revenues ofR$ 6.6 billion (US$ 1,3 billion) in 2016, and for the year 2017, the prediction is to increase 9%, reaching around R$ 7.2 billion (US$ 1,4 billion) (Instituto Brasileiro de Floricultura - Ibraflor, 2017)
Limonium sinuatum belongs to the Plumbaginaceae family, is popularly known as Estátice (In Brazilian Portuguese) and is commercialized as a cut flower for composition, mainly, in floral arrangements (Ciotta and Nunes, 2011)
According to Lorenzi (2015), both are Mediterranean and considered halophytes, being used both in the restoration of saline environments and in urban landscaping (Sánches, 2011). Both species described are propagated mainly by seeds (Lorenzi, 2015), their production must be performed on suitable substrates (Pirola et al 2015), to ensure the success in first floral bud opening and market consumer reaching, phase in which the plant draws more attention for its colour and perfume (Junqueira and Peetz, 2017)

Summary

Introduction

The consumption of ornamental plants in Brazil has increased over the past few years, as the country had revenues ofR$ 6.6 billion (US$ 1,3 billion) in 2016, and for the year 2017, the prediction is to increase 9%, reaching around R$ 7.2 billion (US$ 1,4 billion) (Instituto Brasileiro de Floricultura - Ibraflor, 2017). According to Lorenzi (2015), both are Mediterranean and considered halophytes (tolerant to saline soils), being used both in the restoration of saline environments and in urban landscaping (Sánches, 2011) Both species described are propagated mainly by seeds (Lorenzi, 2015), their production must be performed on suitable substrates (Pirola et al 2015), to ensure the success in first floral bud opening and market consumer reaching, phase in which the plant draws more attention for its colour and perfume (Junqueira and Peetz, 2017)

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