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%.

Desiccation-sensitive seeds lose water quickly, what is an important feature to determine their ability to tolerate periods of seasonal drought. Furthermore, excess of soluble salts on seed germination causes a reduction in the substrate water potential. The objective of this study was to assess the desiccation and salinity tolerance of seeds of four ornamental palm species. Different moisture contents were studied for seeds of Carpentaria acuminata, Dypsis decaryi, Phoenix canariensis, and Ptychosperma elegans, while five concentrations of NaCl were tested separately for C. acuminata and P. elegans. Seeds of C. acuminata and P. canariensis tolerated drying at 5% and 8% seed moisture, respectively. On the other hand, seeds of D. decaryi and P. elegans were sensitive to dehydration even at high moisture contents, 20% and 27% of seed moisture, respectively. Increase on salt concentration did not affect germination or germination rate of C. acuminata and P. elegans seeds.

In vitro cultivation is a technique that allows the production of great amount of plants. However, significant losses may occur during the acclimatization period (ex vitro stage). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of paclobutrazol, in the Murashige and Skoog culture medium, on growth, development, and survival of Zygopetalum crinitum plants. The experimental design (both in vitro and ex vitro) was completely randomized with four treatments: three paclobutrazol concentrations (0.5; 1.0; and 1.5 mg L −1 active ingredient) and the control (without PBZ). Morphological changes promoted by the paclobutrazol application were observed in the seedlings; however, it did not result in higher seedling survival rates of the Zygopetalum crinitum orchid.

Dendrobium nobile Lindl. is one of the most cultivated and distributed orchids around the world; however, information on its nutrition is scarce. Our objective was to study the plant development and nutrient accumulation in plants of D. nobile weekly fertilized with 100 mL Sarruge nutrient solution at 75% concentration. One plant per replication was randomly collected every month, along 12 months, totaling four plants. Dry matter (DM) and nutrient accumulation were determined for the different plant parts. Plants had already accumulated nearly 50% of total DM up to the flowering stage (240 days after first fertilization, DAFF). Order and amount of accumulated nutrients, at 360 DAFF, was, in mg per plant: K (701.07) > N (339.44) > Ca (289.03) > Mg (135.44) > P (118.83) > S (23.56); in mg per plant, it was Fe (14,122.35) > Zn (5,277.82) > Mn (3,216.87) > B (1,253.02) > Cu (271.25).

Palm trees are widely used as ornamental plants, besides its sustainability and industry aspects. These plants are commercially propagated via seeds. Due to its importance and the need for seed germination information, this study aimed to verify the effect of temperature, light regimes, and desiccation tolerance on germination of Mauritia flexuosa L.f. For that, two completely randomized experiments were carried out. The first consisted of treatments arranged in a 6 x 2 factorial scheme, testing six temperatures (20, 25, 30, 35, 20-30, and 25-35 ºC) and light presence and absence. The second comprised five seed water contents (51, 48, 45, 30, and 26%) for desiccation tolerance evaluations. Water content measurements were made every three days, from a sample lot maintained at room temperature. In both trials, each treatment was composed of four replicates with 25 seeds per plot. Germination rate (GR) and germination speed index (GSI) were calculated, and the data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Temperature and light means were compared by the Tukey’s test (p < 0.05), and the desiccation ones by a polynomial regression. The highest GR was observed at 20-30 ºC, regardless of light presence. Moreover, M. flexuosa seeds were sensitive to desiccation.

Due to the lack of information on mineral nutrition of ornamental plants, especially tropical species, we aimed to evaluate the effects of nitrogen fertilization on development, flowering, and mineral nutrition of potted Costus productus. Plants were cultivated along 1 year under protection in Ubatuba, São Paulo State, Brazil, and submitted to five treatments that corresponded to increasing nitrogen doses (0.0, 1.2, 2.4, 3.6, and 4.8 g N plant ¡1). Evaluated plant variables were potted development, height, dry matter of aerial part, number of inflorescences, and nutritional status. Analysis of variance and linear and polynomial regressions were performed for definition of the best adjustments according to the combination of significance and greater determination coefficient. The nitrogen fertilization positively influenced development, flowering, and mineral nutrition of potted C. productus plants, and the dose of 4.8 g N plant ¡1 promoted best results KEYWORDS nutrition; tropical flower; ornamental plant; Costaceae; Zingiberales CONTACT Renata Bachin Mazzini-Guedes

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.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different temperatures, light regimes, and seed moisture contents on germination of the palm Euterpe precatoria, in the Arecaceae family. For the study of light and temperature, the experimental design was entirely randomized; treatments were arranged in a 6 × 2 factorial scheme [six temperature conditions (20˚C, 25˚C, 30˚C, 35˚C, 20˚C -30˚C, and 25˚C -35˚C) combined with two light regimes (light and darkness)] with four replications composed of 25 seeds each. For the seed moisture content study, the experimental design was entirely randomized with five seed moisture contents (27%, 20%, 13%, 12%, and 11%), to which they comprised 5 treatments, and four replications with 25 seeds each. Number of germinated seeds was recorded daily until germination was steady. Data were submitted to variance analysis; for the first experiment, means were compared by the Tukey test (p ≤ 0.05) and, for the second, the regression analysis was performed. The temperature at 20˚C promoted highest germination percentage and germination rate for E. precatoria seeds, under either light or darkness; seeds were tolerant up to 11% moisture content.