Post-harvest growth and longevity of ornamental sunflowers irrigated using magnetised water with different irrigation depths.

With the water crisis affecting several countries, the use of innovative technologies and methods in irrigated agriculture is essential to increase water use efficiency. The use of magnetised water has been considered a possibility both for saving water resources and in increasing crop productivity and quality. Following this, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the growth and longevity of flower stems of ornamental sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.; Vincent's Choice) irrigated with different irrigation depths and water subjected to magnetic field treatment. The treatments consisted of five percentage of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) (20, 70, 100, 130, and 160% of ETc) and two types of irrigation water (magnetised water; and ordinary water). The following characteristics were evaluated: plant height, stem diameter, inflorescence diameter, fresh and dry masses of the leaves and stems, fresh and dry masses of the inflorescence, and post-harvest longevity of the flower stems. The growth and post-harvest longevity characteristics were not influenced by the water type. An increase in irrigation depth promoted an increase in all analysed parameters. Regarding the commercialisation patterns of cut flowers, depth equal to or greater than 0.7 ETc yielded the best classification of ornamental sunflower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]