Ornamental cauliflower production using growth regulator

Abstract

ABSTRACT Some vegetables have been used as an innovation in the ornamental plant market, such as cauliflower, which has well-defined morphological traits. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of paclobutrazol, applied via soil, in order to produce cauliflower for ornamental purposes. The design used was completely randomized with five treatments and seven replicates. The treatments consisted of doses of the growth regulator paclobutrazol (PBZ) (0.5; 1.0; 1.5; 2.0 mg dm-3) and the control (without application). For vegetative growth, we evaluated number of leaves, stem diameter, plant height, leaf area, total chlorophyll, flavonoid index, and nitrogen balance. For production, we evaluated fresh mass of shoot and root, fresh and dry weight, diameter and length of the inflorescences. The application of PBZ promoted significant changes in the development of the cauliflower, resulting in more compact plants, with shorter stems, smaller leaves and a more intense green color (visual observation), and also early inflorescence emission. The authors verified higher fresh and dry weight, diameter and longer inflorescence with application of 0.5 mg dm-3 of PBZ, demonstrating the potential of PBZ to obtain mini cauliflower to serve the potted plant market.