The effect of reduced irrigation on the growth and development of Salvia Farinacea Benth.transplants

Cilj rada bio je utvrditi utjecaj tri tretmana navodnjavanja (100%, 80% i 60% poljskog vodnog kapaciteta (PVK)) na rast i ukrasne karakteristike presadnica vrste Salvia farinacea Benth. Slabija opskrba vodom (60% i 80% PVK) smanjila je duljinu stabljike, duljinu i širinu listova, duljinu cvatne stapke, duljinu cvata te broj ogranaka sa cvatnim pupom, a kod 60% PVK varijante i promjer stabljike te broj grana sa cvatnim pupom. Indeks sadržaja klorofila je kod obje varijante smanjenog navodnjavanja bio povećan. Duljina i širina puči su kod slabije navodnjavanih biljaka na obje strane lista bile smanjene, no broj puči/mm2 se nije značajno razlikovao između različitih varijanti navodnjavanja. Premda je kod slabije navodnjavanih biljaka smanjenje broja grana i ogranaka te smanjenje duljine cvata negativno utjecalo na kvalitetu presadnica, biljke su istodobno zbog manje visine bile kompaktnijeg i skladnijeg habitusa. Rezultati istraživanja sugeriraju da je smanjeno navodnjavanje kod ove vrste moguće primijeniti kao alternativnu ili dopunsku metodu kontrole visine te koristiti za proizvodnju biljaka komercijalno zadovoljavajuće kvalitete uz manji utrošak vode.The aim of this work was to determine the influence of three irrigation treatments (100%, 80% and 60% field water capacity (FWC)) on the growth and ornamental characteristics of Salvia farinacea Benth transplants. Reduced irrigation treatments (60% and 80% FWC) reduced the length of stem, the length and width of leaf, peduncle length, inflorescence length, the number of secondary branches with inflorescence bud, and, in the 60% FWC treatment, the diameter of stem and the number of primary branches with inflorescence bud. The chlorophyll content index was increased in both variants of reduced irrigation. The length and width of stomata were reduced on both sides of the leaf in less irrigated plants, but stomata density did not differ significantly between different irrigation treatments. In spite of the fact that the reduction in the inflorescence length and in the number of branches with inflorescence had a negative effect on plant quality, the less irrigated plants, due to their smaller height, had a more compact and balanced habit. The results suggest that reduced irrigation can be applied in S. farinacea as an alternative or supplementary method of height control and used to produce plants of commercially satisfactory quality with less water consumption