Development of ornamental sunflower plants (Helianthus annuus L.) in flowerpots, two substrata with nutritive solution and in soil.

Abstract

The sunflower, due to the beauty of its flower, may be cultivated also for ornamental purposes, thus becoming an additional source of profit for farmers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the viability of producing ornamental sunflower cv. Sunbright in a hydroponic system, comparing it with the conventional system in pot with soil. The used system was hydroponics with water being supplied by a subirrigation process and two different substrata: broken stones and silica, in addition to pots containing only soil. At each harvest the following characteristics were evaluated: plant height, stem length, number of leaves, inflorescence diameter, leaf area, and root, stem, blossom, leaf, and total dry matter. A completely random design was used with three plants per plot and five replications, in a factorial arrangement of 0x3: 0 harvest times and 3 different substrata. The results showed that the plants became too tall for commercialization in vase. However they can be traded just as flower.Additional keywords: floriculture; ornamentals; hydroponics.