Effect of different potassium to nitrogen ratios on yield and some quantitative and ‎qualitative indices of Gerbera jamesonii cv. Dune.‎

Gerbera is one of the most famous cut flowers, considered as one of the top ten cuts in the floriculture industry. Nutrient recipe management is one of the key factors in greenhouse crops production The correct amount and ratio of nutrients with each other in nutrient solutions is influenced by some production and absorption conditions such as light intensity, ambient temperature and type of culture medium, among which the ratio of some high-consumption elements such as potassium and nitrogen is significant. In order to investigate the effect of different ratios of potassium to nitrogen on yield and some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of gerbera flower of Dune cultivar, a study in a completely randomized design with four treatments of potassium to nitrogen fertilizer ratio (1.25 to 1, 1.5 To 1, 1.75 to 1 and 2 to 1) were performed with three replications and five observations. Results showed that increasing the ratios of potassium to nitrogen improved growth and flowering and had a significant effect at the 1% level on the number of leaves, leaf fresh and dry weight, flower number, flower stem height, flower stem fresh weight, chlorophyll index and soluble sugars content. A significant effect at the 5% level also observed in flower vase life and petal anthocyanin. In general, with regarding the costs of greenhouse crops production and results of the present study, the application of 1.75:1 ratio of potassium to nitrogen in comparison with others ratios of potassium to nitrogen is recommendable and have more positive effects on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of gerbera cv. Dune.