Production of ‘Arbequina’ olive tree seedlings under soilless growing systems

Abstract

The The objective of this work was to evaluate ‘Arbequina’ olive tree seedlings growth obtained from mini-cuttings under soilless growth systems and different periods. The experimental design was entirely randomized according to the 3 x 2 x 5 factorial design (three systems, two periods and five months of cultivation), with four replications of 12 plants. Under the hydroponic system, the experiment used sand as substrate and irrigated seedlings daily with a nutritive solution. For the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), plants were irrigated using intermittent flow irrigation. Under the conventional system, plants were grown in plastic bags filled with the substrate Carolina®, with 100 mL of nutritive solution every 15 days. The following variables were analyzed: number of shoots, number of secondary shoots and secondary shoots length during the cultivation period. After 150 days of cultivation, the following variables were analyzed: stem diameter, aerial part fresh and dry matter and root fresh and dry matter and root length for the conventional and semi-hydroponic systems. The use of the semi-hydroponic system promotes greater plant growth. The period with the highest temperature (spring/summer) promotes greater plant growth.