ISHS Acta Horticulturae 559: V International Symposium on Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climates: Current Trends for Suistainable Technologies
COMPARISON OF WATER AND NUTRIENTS USE OF THREE CULTIVARS OF CYMBIDIUM IN A SOILLESS CULTURE SYSTEM |
| Authors: | S. De Pascale, T. Maturi, R. Paradiso, G. Barbieri |
| Keywords: | mineral nutrition, net photosynthetic rate, orchids, tissue analysis, water consumption |
| Abstract:
A one-year greenhouse experiment was carried out in Naples (40° 51’ N) on orchid plants grown in a soilless system. Water consumption and nutrients uptake were investigated on three hybrids of Cymbidium: Floripink (pink), Pendragon Irene (white) and Traceredway (yellow). Plants (6 years-old) were grown in pot on a mixture (v/v) of 48% of ureumformaldehyde, 48% of polyurethane and 4% of polystyrene. pH and EC of the nutrient solution were kept at 6.0 and below 0.6 dS m-1. The mean water consumption was higher in cv Traceredway, (1.6 L per plant per day) and in Floripink (1.4 L), compared to Pendragon Irene (0.6 L) and it was related to plant leaf area (190, 125 and 51 dm2 respectively). The mean total uptake of macro elements decreased from the first (Traceredway) to the last cultivar analysed (Pendragon Irene) with N uptake of 8.0, 7.2 and 3.1 g per plant per year. Leachate volume was 40% of the supplied nutrient solution in Floripink and Traceredway, while it was less and more variable in Pendragon Irene (18%), with a mean concentration of 1.68 mmol of NO3-, 0.055 of PO43- and 0.24 of K+ per liter of leachate. Analysis of leaves, stems, flowers and roots water content revealed no differences among the cultivars. Mean nitrogen contents were 1.41 g 100 g-1 dry weight, 1.53, 1.79 and 1.76 in leaves, stems, flowers and roots respectively. Net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance and the chlorophyll a/b ratio of leaves of the three Cymbidium hybrids analysed were higher than those obtained for the same species by other researchers and may indicate that those hybrids are more suitable for the Mediterranean environmental conditions. | |
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