Abstract
ABSTRACT In the past decades, desert rose has become a very popular ornamental plant, especially among collectors, due to its exotic and sculptural forms. However, it has been grown on a commercial scale only recently, and little is known about how to best manage it as a container-grown plant, or even which potting medium (substrate) to recommend. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the interactions between potting media and irrigation levels for growing desert rose as a potted ornamental plant. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse using a 6 x 2 factorial arrangement with six replications, six potting media and two irrigation levels. The mixes were characterized by measuring their physical properties, specifically the density and water retention capacity (WRC), as well as chemical properties, such as the pH and electrical conductivity (EC). After 210 days, plant growth and plant water consumption were evaluated and measured. A lower dry density for the vermiculite mixes was observed in comparison to that for the sand mixes. However, WRC ranged from 428 to 528 mL L-1 among the mixes, values considered close to ideal. In general, plant growth exhibited higher increases in mixes consisting of coconut fiber + sand or vermiculite, regardless of the irrigation level. Mixes of vermiculite + coconut fiber and sand + coconut fiber can be used to grow desert rose in pots, as long as irrigation is used to maintain the moisture content of the potting medium (mix) between 60-70% and 80-90% of the WRC.
Highlights
Adenium genus belongs to the botanical family Apocynaceae, which includes many tropical ornamental species, such as Catharanthus spp., Beaumontia spp., Carissa spp., Allamanda spp., Mandevilla spp., Nerium spp. and Plumeria spp. (Colombo et al, 2015)
Kämpf and Fermino (2000) stated that the higher the potting medium density, the more difficult it was to cultivate the plant, whether due to limitations on plant growth or to difficulties in transporting the pots. These authors recommended that dry densities should be between 200 and 400 g L-1 for pots, with a column of potting medium up to 15 cm deep, as it was in this study
The water retention capacity (WRC) values of the mixes were close to the values recommended by Verdonck, Vleeschauwer and De Boodt (1981) as ideal for potting media and accounting for approximately 40 to 50% of the potting medium volume
Summary
Adenium genus belongs to the botanical family Apocynaceae, which includes many tropical ornamental species, such as Catharanthus spp., Beaumontia spp., Carissa spp., Allamanda spp., Mandevilla spp., Nerium spp. and Plumeria spp. (Colombo et al, 2015). Adenium genus belongs to the botanical family Apocynaceae, which includes many tropical ornamental species, such as Catharanthus spp., Beaumontia spp., Carissa spp., Allamanda spp., Mandevilla spp., Nerium spp. and Plumeria spp. & Schult., has become a popular plant because of its rusticity, exotic, sculptural shapes and spectacular flowers producedby natural and commercial hybrid varieties. Despite these characteristics, when the production of an ornamental plant on a commercial scale is the objective, it is important to define the production system, starting with the potting medium to be used (Colombo et al, 2016). Irrigation management is of paramount importance because relevant information on this species is still scarce in the literature. Plants grown in pots are characterized by a high (and unbalanced) ratios between the aerial parts of the plants and the roots, and by much greater water, air and nutrient requirements than those grown directly in the soil (and in the open field), where growth rates are slower and the volume of soil available for the roots is theoretically unlimited (Gruda, 2012)
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