Abstract

PAPONE, M.L.  and  FATTA, N.. Photoperiod effect on commercial quality of Althaea rosea plants obtained from elite germplasm. Agriscientia [online]. 2011, vol.28, n.2, pp.157-161. ISSN 1668-298X.

Althaea rosea has little spread in Buenos Aires despite of its decorative value. Starting from seeds of wild plants and after 3 cycles of selection, we have obtained germplasm with good behavior in pots. With the aim of disseminating A. rosea, we faced tests in pots, with the objective of estimating photoperiod effects on commercial quality of the elite germplasm obtained. The plants that received 16 h of light showed less number of days until the appearance of the first bud than those receiving natural light. This result is interesting because it indicates that the first ones could arrive early for sale. Differences were also found for petal length and area in plants with 16 h photoperiod, its showed larger flowers and wider petals than tended to overlap when they were compared with those observed in the flowers of plants that received natural light. The plans treated with long photoperiod exhibited less variation coefficient for the measured values, allowing the conclusion that light supplementation is an effective tool to focus the sale and increase quality of A. rosea potted plants.

Keywords : Days to flowering; Petal length; Petal area; Buenos Aires.

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