Soil water content and wood ash fertilization on the cultivation of gladiolus

Abstract

ABSTRACT Irrigation management, associated with the management of fertilization through the use of waste from plant material burning, has proven to be a sustainable strategy to increase the production of ornamental plants in greenhouses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the development of gladiolus subjected to soil water contents and wood ash fertilization in a Cerrado Oxisol. The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions from April to September 2014, in a randomized block design, arranged in a 5 x 5 factorial, with four replicates. The treatments consisted of five water contents (7, 14, 21, 28, and 35%) and five doses of wood ash (0, 8, 16, 24 and 32 g dm-3). Irrigation management was carried out using the portable probe Diviner 2000® . The evaluated variables were: plant height, number of leaves, shoot and root dry matter and diameter and mass of corms. The best results for diameter and mass of corms and number of leaves were obtained with combinations of soil water contents higher than 24% and fertilization with wood ash doses higher than 11 g dm-3.