Desenvolvimento de variedades de Petúnia em diferentes substratos

Abstract

Petunia (Petunia x hybrida) is an annual herbaceous plant, of the Solanaceae family, originating from tropical and subtropical locations in South America. Species widely used in ornamentation of houses, gardens and other environments due to the exuberance of its flowers and the great diversity of colors. Despite this, there is little information about the growing substrate for this species. The aim of the study was to evaluate the development of Petunia varieties in different types of commercially available substrates. In this work, 15 treatments were used, five compositions of substrates containing coconut powder and a compound based on pine bark x three varieties of Petunia.The experiment was analyzed in three stages: seedling emergence; production of seedlings in trays and development of potted plants. The emergency assessment was carried out through the IVE. In the production of seedlings, the following variables were considered: number of leaves and length of leaves. As for the development of plants in pots, the variables were verified: number of branches, number of buds, number of flowers, and diameter of the flower. As well as the dry weight of the aerial part and dry weight of the roots. The best substrate for emergence varied according to the Petunia variety. Regarding seedling production, the substrate composed of 50% pine bark and 50% coconut powder promoted better seedling development. In the development of potted plants, the best substrate varied according to the Petunia variety. It is concluded that the substrate recommended for the production of Petunia seedlings is the T3 substrate and for the cultivation of petunia in pots, the T5 substrate is recommended for the Blue and Red varieties, while for the Burg variety the T4 substrate is recommended.