ISHS Acta Horticulturae 319: International Symposium on Transplant Production Systems
AMMONIUM AND NITRATE NUTRITION OF 11 BEDDING PLANT SPECIES |
| Authors: | B. Jeong, Chiwon W. Lee |
| Abstract:
An experiment was conducted to determine the best NH4+:NO3- ratios for the growth of 11 bedding plant species in a greenhouse with daily average air temperatures 14–22C and CO2 enrichment at 600–1,000 ppm. Seedlings were grown in cellpacks (5.5 cm x 6.0 cm x 5.5 cm) containing the Colorado State Univ. soil mix (1 soil:3 sphagnum peat:2 pearlite, v/v, steamed) with nutrient solutions (pH 6.50) containing 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% NH4+ in combination, respectively, with 100, 75, 50, 25 and 0% NO3-. In all solutions, nitrogen and total ion concentration were fixed at 16 and 50 meq·l-1, respectively. Most species grew best with mixtures of NH4+ and NO3-: begonia, coleus, impatiens, marigold, petunia, salvia and zinnia at 50:50 (%), and snapdragon at 25:75 (%). However, ageratum grew best with 100% NH4+, celosia with 100% NO3-, and lobelia with either 100% NH4+ or 100% NO4-, NH4+ toxicity symptoms were observed only in marigold and salvia grown with 100% NH4+. Number of plants flowered in begonia, lobelia, petunia and salvia was not significantly different among treatments. | |
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