Journal of Ornamental Plants
Volume:13 Issue: 1, Winter 2023

The cultivation of edible flowers, e.g. violet, which is native to Iran, is a good way to increase the availability of these new and nutritionally valuable sources to humans. This research employed a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design in three replications to explore the interactive effects of gibberellic acid (GA) at three rates of 0, 150, and 300 mg L-1 and nitrogen (N) at three rates of 0, 100, and 200 mg L-1  on the traits of two violet species (Viola tricolor and V. odorata). The results showed that the application of GA and N significantly improved the edible traits of both species so that the highest protein, carotenoid, Fe, and Zn contents in the petals of both species were related to the treatment of ‘GA300 × N200’. The maximum petal anthocyanin content was produced by the treatment of ‘GA0 × N100’ (58.32 mg 100 g-1 FW) in the sweet violets and by the treatment of ‘GA300 × N100’ (66.84 mg 100 g-1 FW) in the commercial violets. The commercial violets were richer in Se than the sweet violets. The highest Se contents in the commercial violets were obtained from the treatments of ‘GA300 × N200’, ‘GA300 × N100’, and ‘GA150 × N200’. In both violet species, the highest flavonoid contents at the wavelengths of 300 and 330 nm were related to the treatments of ‘GA300 × N200’ and ‘GA150 × N200’. However, these treatments were ineffective in flavonoids at 270 nm. The sweet violets had a higher antioxidant capacity than the commercial violets. The highest antioxidant capacity in the sweet violets (84.83 % DPPHsc) and commercial violets (78.17 % DPPHsc) was produced with the application of ‘GA150 × N200’. Based on the results, both species are effective sources of proteins, minerals, and antioxidant compounds. As well, ‘GA300 × N200’ and ‘GA150 × N200’ are recommended for improving the edible traits of these two species.

The interactive effect of mechanical methods (stem-end splitting) and chemical methods (silver nanoparticles) was studied on the vase life and biochemical characteristics of cut Alstroemeria cv. ‘Konst Coco’ flowers in a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with 10 treatments, 3 replications, 30 plots, and 150 flowers. The experimental treatments included longitudinal stem-end split at two levels (no split and a 5 cm split) and silver nanoparticles (SNP) at five levels (0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 mg L-1). The results showed that the interaction of the experimental treatments was statistically significant for all recorded traits. Based on the results, the longest vase life (13.88 days) was obtained from the application of “5 cm split × 20 mg L-1 SNP”, showing a 6.83 day increase versus the control. The treatment of “5 cm split × 20 mg L-1 SNP” recorded the highest water uptake (2.03 ml g-1 F.W.), dry matter (14.11%), total chlorophyll (2.432 mg g-1 F.W.), and petal carotenoid (2.307 µg g-1 F.W.) and the lowest fresh weight loss (1.34 g), stem-end and vase solution bacteria (3 Log10 CFU mL-1), ethylene synthesis (0.807 nl l-1 h-1 g-1 F.W.), electrolyte leakage (6.04 %), MDA (12.53 nmol g-1 F.W. min-1), SOD activity (12.64 IU g-1 F.W. min-1), and POD activity (0.009 nmol g-1 F.W. min-1), so it was the best treatment in preserving vase life and biochemical properties of the cut Alstroemeria ‘Konst Coco’ flowers.

Anthurium production has an important contribution to the floriculture or cut flower industry. The integration of organic and inorganic nutrient sources is the best cultivation management for anthurium.  The study was conducted to assess the effect of organic manures and inorganic fertilizers as exogenous sources of nutrients on the performance of anthurium. The study was two factor experiment laid out in a 3 × 3 adopting a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Treatment means comparison was done using tukey's significant difference test (HSD). The different factors were as follows: M1: Coconut husk, M2: Coconut husk with chicken dung and M3: Coconut husk with cattle manure for factor A, and F0: No inorganic fertilizer, F1: 90-60-60 (NPK) and F2: 45-30-30 (NPK) for factor B. The results revealed that the chicken and cattle manures as part of the growing media significantly improve the growth of anthurium regardless of the amount of inorganic fertilizer applied. The net income as well as the return on cash expense were negative from all treatments.

The properties of different materials used as planting substrate exert direct and indirect effects on crop growth and production. Hence, the selection of a suitable substrate is one of the most important factors in the success of production in soilless cultivation. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of physical and chemical properties of different cultivation substrates on the growth and development of Crassula capitella. Thus, different organic and inorganic cultivation substrates such as sand, coco peat, charcoal, pumice, peat moss and zeolite were combined with each other in different ratios and tested. The measured traits were phytochemical compounds (chlorophyll a, b and total, carotenoid, SOD activity level and MDA content), fresh weight and dry weight of root and shoot, and element uptake (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). Based on the results of the present research, there was a significant difference in terms of plant height, wet and dry weight, nutrient uptake rate and enzyme activity between different cultivation substrates. The plants grown in substrate No. 10 (35 cc of fine pumice + 5 cc of coco peat + 5 cc of peat moss + 5 cc of charcoal) and substrate No. 1 (35 cc of 3-5-mm fine sand + 5 cc of coco peat + 5 cc of charcoal) showed the highest and lowest numerical values of the evaluated traits, respectively. The use of combinations containing pumice, coco peat and zeolites seems to prevent the wastage of nutrients and preserves nutrient ions, and therefore results in increasing the fertilizer efficiency and improving the nutrient uptake and maintaining moisture, and ultimately improves the plant growth.

Gladiolus is one of the most important cut flowers in the world, especially in Iran. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of spraying different calcium doses and sources on quality and quantity of Gladiolus grandiflorus cv. Rose Supreme. The experiment was conducted in a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. The calcium concentrations were 0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2 and 1.5 g L-1 and its sources were CaCl2 and CaNo3 with three replications, during two years in 2017-2019. The data revealed that foliar application of calcium doses had significant effects on most quality and quantity growth parameters. Increase calcium doses stimulated flower stalk height, flowering stem diameter, spike length, inflorescence fresh and dry weight, inflorescence bending, vase life, and leaf calcium concentration. Calcium at a dose of 1.2 g L-1 increased flower stem bending and diameter resulted in expanded vase life by 26.5 and 36.7 %, respectively compared to control. Therefore, pre-harvest foliar application of calcium nitrate at 1.2 g L-1 level increased leaf calcium concentration and stems bending that led to the delay of senescence and therefore increased flower longevity. In this experiment, we had not any limitations and everything was well done. Use of calcium fertilizers improved the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of gladiolus flowers.

One of the important issues in sustainable agricultural management is the proper yeid of the agricultural products under environmental stress conditions. Naturally, in the dry country of Iran, lack of moisture is one of the main challenges of agriculture. Proper plant nutrition can moderate the effects of drought stress. To investigate the effects of drought stress on plant yield, Zinnia was used as a test plant. For this purpose, the growth of Zinnia plant in response to drought stress at different levels of potassium fertilization was investigated in a factorial experiment based on a randomized completely block design with two factors. The first factor: Three periods of irrigation including 2 days, 4 days, one week and the second factor: Four levels of potassium fertilizer including: 1) Use of potash fertilizer as base, 2) Use of potash fertilizer as base and during the growth period, 3) Use of potassium fertilizer as a base and during the growth period + 2 times foliar spraying, 4) Using potash fertilizer as base and during the growth period + 4 times foliar spraying. The cultivation medium was used in a 2:1 ratio of soil and manure in each pot. After the end of the growth period, the vegetative indicators include fresh and dry weight of aerial organs (shoot), plant height, number of lateral branches, number of flowers, flower weight, length of the longest branch were measured. The highest growth indices were: Fresh and dry shoot weight in treatment 4 and 2 days irrigation equal 2.36 and 0.33 g, respectively; plant height in treatment 4 and 2 days irrigation; the number of lateral branches in treatment 4 and 2 days irrigation equal 8; and the length of the longest branch in treatment 4 and 2 days irrigation equal 9 cm. The growth conditions in the fertilizer treatments were better than the control and this shows that potassium has increased the resistance of the plant to drought stress.