Study On The Technology Of Soilless Culture Of Begonia Semperflorens Link Et Otto

Begonia semperflorens Link et Otto is an excellent plant for the garden and potted flower, which plays an important role in the flower industry. At present, the standard planting substrate of the parterre and potted flower is soil, and the normal tending is watering and fertilization, which can affect direcT1y the quality of the flower, especially the impaird growth in the high temperature during the summer. Therefore, the standard system may not be suitable for the production of Begonia semperflorens in large scale. In the meantime, the technology of soilless culture is getting mature and has been successfully applied to the industrialized production of vegetables. Great attention has been drawn for the application of this technique in the flower industry. However, the reports on the technique of soilless culture in Begonia semperflorens are few. The purpose of this study is to investigate the soilless culture technique in the Begonia semperflorens which can provide significant information on the implementation and basic pathway for the industrialized production of Begonia semperflorens.In order to select the optimum nutrient solution and planting substrate, four types of formulations (including Begonia massoniana formulation (T1), Formulation of Begonia×argenteo-guttata (T2), Formulations of Hoagland and Snyde (T4), and Japanese YuanShi formulation (T7)) and substrates (including Ml (soil), M2 (peat: pearlite = 2:1), M3 (ceramsite), and M4 (vermiculite:slow-release organic fertilizer = 25:1)) were used in this study. The growth indices (including plant height, crown diameter, biomass, the number of leaf and branch etc.) and flower trait indices (including flower diameter and number) were investigated for determination of the best nutrient solution formulation and substrate for Begonia semperflorens. The results from the study are as following.a) For T4, significant differences were found in leaf number, branch number, plant height, crown diameter, growth amount, inflorescence number, floret number, staminate flower number, female flower number between T4 and T1, excepting no significant differences in staminate flower diameter and staminate flower peduncle length. For T7, there were obvious differences in inflorescence number, floret number, staminate flower number, female flower number, staminate flower diameter, plant height, crown diameter between T7 and T1, with no clear difference in leaf number, branch number and staminate flower peduncle length. However, there were no obvious differences in growth between T2 and T1. It suggested that T4 are better for the nutritional growth and T7 are better for the reproductive growth of Begonia semperflorens than T1 and T2.b) We also compared the wet and dry weight of Begonia semperflorens for the portions above and under earth, length of root, and most leaf area in various nutrient solution, It was found that T4 and T7 increased the above- and below-ground of Begonia semperflorens, root length, and the leaf area, and T4 was more effective than T7.c) Moreover, T4 could promote Begonia semperflorens to absorp more K and Mg, while T7 could promote the absorption of K and keep pH stable .d) Judging from the appreciating characters, nutrient feature, and the observation of growth stage of vegetation and reproduction, three soilless substrates were all in favor of the increase of floret number. M2 was the best one for the increase of height, crown diameter, and floret number. It followed by M4.e) The measurement of wet and dry above- and below-ground weight of Begonia semperflorens and root length showed that M2 was the best to increase the above-and below-ground biomass, and the second was M4. The weights of the potted flower in vegetation period were significanT1y decreased with substrate M2, M3 and M4 than with M1. The substrate M2 was the lightest and a better medium.f) Begonia semperflorens growing in M2 showed higher contents of C and S than in M1, although the similar contents of H and N. Moreover, the substrate M2 was very suitable for planting of Begonia semperflorens in many aspects on the basis of the characteristics of physics and chemistry.In conclusion, the study show that the formulation of nutrient solution T4 (Hoagland and Snyde 1938) could be used to promote nutritional growth, while the Japanese YuanShi formulation T7 to promote reproductive growth for Begonia semperflorens in soilless culture. From the analysis of different culture substrate on appreciating characters and nutrient feature of Begonia semperflorens, the medium M2 is the best material for soilless culture .