Ornamental pepper submitted to treatments with daminozide in pots containing coconut fiber or sand

Abstract

The demand for ornamental pepper as “potted plants” is growing. It is possible to produce these plants with growth regulators in substrates easily acquired and capable of providing high quality plants at low cost. The present study had the goal of evaluating the effect of applications of levels of the regulator daminozide on ornamental pepper grown in pots containing coconut fiber (FC) or sand as substrates. A completely randomized design was employed in a 2x5 factorial scheme consisting of two types of substrate (FC and sand) and five levels of daminozide (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 g L-1) applied three times during the experiment, at 25, 40, and 55 days after sowing. The following variables were analyzed: plant height, stem diameter, number, width and length of fruits, dry matter of leaf, stem, fruits, and root, leaf area, relative chlorophyll index, net photosynthesis, reduced stomatal conductance, internal CO2 concentration, transpiration rate and temperature of leaves. Daminozide reduced plant height pepper on both substrates, and the coconut fiber provided greater vigor and development. With increasing concentrations of the regulator pepper plants had more thicker stems, lower height and leaf area, leaves with higher chlorophyll content, and presented reduction in the following variables: width and length of fruits, rates of transpiration, net photosynthesis, and stomatal conductance of plants.