Published in Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture, Vol. LXVIV, Issue 1
Written by Alina-Ștefana OZARCHEVICI, Irina CARA, Gerard JITĂREANU, Bogdan-Ionel CIOROIU, Maria APOSTOL, Lucia DRAGHIA
In this study, three ornamental varieties of Ipomoea batatas ('Heart Bronze', 'Black', 'Heart Lime') were studied to evaluate the influence of substrate type on some morpho-decorative characters. The plants were grown in 70 L containers in which four types of substrate were used: garden soil + peat, garden soil + peat + hydrogel, garden soil + peat + coconut fiber, garden soil + peat + coconut fiber + hydrogel. 'Heart Bronze' was characterized by a richer vegetative mass (2-6 times more leaves than the other two varietys) and 'Heart Lime' by longer branching. In all varieties, the substrate consisting of garden soil + peat favored stem branching, and in the varieties 'Heart Lime' and 'Heart Bronze' it favored the stem length growth. To increase the number of leaves/plant, the substrate of garden soil + peat + hydrogel can be recommended for all varieties, although good results were also obtained with the substrate containing coconut fiber. The results show that the presence of hydrogel, which helps in solubilization of nutrients and their uptake, ensured the formation of more leaves.
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