The management of fertilization using burnt residue from plant material associated with the management of irrigation, has demonstrated the possibility of a sustainable strategy to increase production of ornamental plants cultivated in greenhouses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the development of gladiolus plants cultivated in the Cerrado Rhodic Hapludox and subjected to doses of wood ash and volumetric soil moistures. The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions, from April to June 2014. The experimental design was arranged in randomized blocks, in a 5×5 factorial scheme, totaling 25 treatments, with four replications. Treatments were composed of five doses of wood ash (0, 8, 16, 24, and 32 g dm -3 ), and five volumetric soil moistures (7, 14, 21, 28, and 35%). Evaluated variables were: pH and soil water retention capacity; length of flower spikes and flower stems; flower numbers; and days from plant emergence to flowering. Results were analyzed using the response surface methodology with SAS software. The best results for length of flower spikes and flower stems depend on the combination of appropriate doses of wood ash and soil moisture levels. Number of flowers and days from plant emergence to flowering was separately influenced by either doses of wood ash or soil moisture, which ranged from 8 to 12 g dm -3 wood ash, and 33 to 35% soil moisture. The ash may be used as both soil corrective and fertilizer for greenhouse gladiolus production, besides improving soil water retention capacity. The ideal volumetric soil moisture for flower production is 33%.

Irrigation management, associated with the management of fertilization through the use of waste from plant material burning, has proven to be a sustainable strategy to increase the production of ornamental plants in greenhouses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the development of gladiolus subjected to soil water contents and wood ash fertilization in a Cerrado Oxisol. The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions from April to September 2014, in a randomized block design, arranged in a 5 x 5 factorial, with four replicates. The treatments consisted of five water contents (7, 14, 21, 28, and 35%) and five doses of wood ash (0, 8, 16, 24 and 32 g dm-3). Irrigation management was carried out using the portable probe Diviner 2000® . The evaluated variables were: plant height, number of leaves, shoot and root dry matter and diameter and mass of corms. The best results for diameter and mass of corms and number of leaves were obtained with combinations of soil water contents higher than 24% and fertilization with wood ash doses higher than 11 g dm-3.

Gladiolus grandiflorus Andrews, in the family Iridaceae, is one of the most produced and marketed flowers in the world. In general, however, research results on gladioli production factors are scarce and divergent. The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of corm size and soil water content on gladiolus flower production. The experimental design, using the early maturity cultivar 'White Friendship', was entirely randomized, arranged in a 5 x 2 factorial scheme (five soil water contents: 25; 50; 75; 100; and 125% field capacity, combined with two corm sizes: medium and big), with four replications per treatment. Each replication, composed of one pot, comprised three corms, totaling 40 pots and 120 plants. Both vegetative and flowering characteristics were evaluated. Gladiolus cultivation at 80% soil field capacity presents best results for commercialization, generating longer flower stems with greater diameter and flower number, plus larger flowers. Furthermore, such soil water content promotes the shortest cultivation period.

Utilizing wood ash as a fertilizer in agriculture is a viable alternative to the soil nutrients absorbed by the crops. The aim of this study was to assess the phytometric and productive features of Brachiaria brizantha (cv. BRS Piatã) fertilized with wood ash in the Brazilian Cerrado. The experiment was performed in a greenhouse, adopting a completely randomized design, and applying five rates of wood ash (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 g•dm −3 ) with five replicates. The shoot plant parts were subjected to three successive cuts 30-day intervals each. The results were submitted to the analysis of variance and regression analysis at 5% probability. The wood ash rates between 13 to 17 g•dm −3 clearly produced the best results for plant height (102.24, 84.42 and 63.27 cm), leaf/stem ratio (1.61, 1, 78 and 1.94), and chlorophyll index (46.66, 41.93 and 38.39), respectively, during the first, second and third evaluations. A 94% increase in the shoot dry mass (2 nd and 3 rd evaluations) and root parts was noted for the wood ash rate of 20 g•dm −3 , compared with the treatment involving wood ash fertilization. Wood ash affects the phytometric features, increases the chlorophyll concentration and thus the BRS Piatã grass production in the Oxisol of the Brazilian Cerrado.

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The aim of study was to avaliate the productive and structural features of Canavalia ensiformis L. resulting from the wood ash acting as a soil corrective and fertilizer in the Oxisol. The experiment was performed in a greenhouse, from April to July 2012, in the Municipality of Rondonópolis, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The experiment, with Oxisol, use as of six wood ash doses (0.0, 3.0, 6.0, 9.0, 12.0 and 15.0 g dm -3 ). Harvesting of the Canavalia ensiformis L. was done 60 days post germination, in plastic pots of 4 dm -3 capacity, to which the wood ash doses had been administered 20 days prior to planting. At the time of flowering, the following measurements were recorded, plant height, indirect chlorophyll index of leaf, stem diameter, leaf number count, soil pH, dry mass of shoot, dry mass of root, numbers and dry mass of the Rhizobia-rich root nodules. The findings were then submitted to the analysis of variance and regression test, up to p=0.05 significance. The wood ash acted as a corrective and induced a pH increase, enhancing the soil chemistry. Influencing the Original Research Articlenumber of leaves, dry mass of leaves and nodules. The other variables analyzed, which were adjusted to the quadratic regression model, demonstrated improved results when 9 to 12 g dm -3 of wood ash per pot were added.