Cutting of Physalis peruviana on different polystyrene traysand substrates

Abstract

Physalis peruviana in Brazil has its agricultural production limited by the lack of technical information about cultivation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the rooting of P. peruviana using different polystyrene trays and substrates. To run the experiment, in a 3x4 factorial design (trays x substrates), polystyrene trays (BPE) (Styrofoam®) were tested, with number of cells: [1- BPE1 (72); 2- BPE2 (128); and 3- BPE (200)], filled with four different substrates (S) [1-S1 (Mecplant® (M)); 2- S2 (washed sand (A)); 3-S3 (Mecplant® (50 %) and expanded vermiculite (50%) (M + V)); and 4-S4 (Mecplant® (50%) and washed sand (50%) (M + A)].Thetreatments were evaluated as to the following parameters:percentage of rooted cuttings (PC), length of the root system (LR), seedling height (SH), stem diameter (SD)and number of true leaves (NL) based on the results obtained and the conditions in which. This research was performed, no differences were found between treatments only for the variable stem diameter (SD), whereas the other variables were favored by the use of expanded polystyrene tray (BPE), 72 cells and the resulting substrate combination Mecplant® commercial substrate (50%) and expanded vermiculite (50%) (S4), demonstrating the cuttings to be a good alternative for the propagation of cuttings of P. peruviana.