Comportamiento productivo del lisianthus (eustoma grandiflorum [raf.] shinn) en cultivo sin suelo

Planting trials were carried out with four cultivars of lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum [Raf.] Shinn), namely 'Mariachi Blue', 'Mariachi Green', 'Mariachi Blue Picotee' and 'Mariachi Pink', in soilless culture. The objective was to analyze their productive behavior under the climatic conditions of the province of Almeria, Spain, in the summer-autumn season of 2006. Perlite B-12 was used as substrate and the planting density was 64 plants·m-2. Fertigation (pH 5.8; EC 1.5 dS·m-1) was carried out daily. Irrigation time was set at between 20 and 30 % drainage. A randomized complete block design with 30 control plants per replication was used. Analysis of variance and Fisher's least significant difference test were performed. Precociousness, stem length, number of flowers at harvest, flowers per stem and bunch weight (5 stems) were evaluated. All cultivars showed great precociousness, between 52 and 59 days. 'Mariachi Blue Picotee' had the longest stem length with 68.64 cm and 'Mariachi Blue' had the shortest with 58.69 cm. In number of flowers per stem, 'Mariachi Blue' had the most with 5.59 units and 'M Green' the least with 4.20 flowers. Finally, in terms of bunch weight (five stems), 'Mariachi Blue Picotee' obtained the highest weight with 154 g, and 'Mariachi Green' had the lowest with 109 g. The results indicate the desirability of producing lisianthus in soilless culture under greenhouse conditions in the summer-autumn period in Almeria, because of its precociousness and flower quality.Coordinación de Revistas Institucionales