Growth of Petunia as Affected by Different Substrate Moisture Content

Istraživanje je provedeno u stakleniku „A vrt?“ u Osijeku 2018 godine. Cilj istraživanja bio je proučiti utjecaj različite vlažnosti supstrata na rast i kvalitetu cvijeta petunije (Petunia hybrida L.). Vlažnost supstrata promatrana je u tri tretmana navodnjavanja. Tretmani navodnjavanja bili su kako slijedi: a1 – vlažnost supstrata održavana je na 70 % retencijskog kapaciteta (RK), a2 – vlažnost supstrata održavana je na 85 % RK i a3 – vlažnost supstrata održavana je na 100 % RK. Istraživanje je postavljeno po slučajnom blok rasporedu u 4 ponavljanja. Tijekom istraživanja svakodnevno je bilježena srednja dnevna temperatura zraka, količina oborine, obroci navodnjavanja. Jednom tjedno je bilježen broj listova i cvjetova. Prema rezultatima istraživanja navodnjavanje je vrlo značajno (p < 0,01) utjecalo na povećanje ispitivanih svojstava. najveći broj grana, listova, cvjetova te masa cvjetova i visina biljke ostvareni su na tretmanima s najvećom normom navodnjavanja.
The research was conducted in a greenhouse "A vrt?" In Osijek. The purpose of this research was to show the influence of different substrate moisture on the growth and quality of the petunia flower (Petunia hybrida L.). The substrate moisture was observed in three irrigation treatments. Irrigation treatments were as follows: a1 - substrate moisture was maintained at 70% retention capacity (RC), a2 - substrate humidity was maintained at 85% RC and a3 - substrate humidity was maintained at 100% RC. On each irrigation treatment ten plants of petunia were planted, and the research was carried out in 4 repetitions. Mean daily air temperatures, rainfall and irrigation were recorded daily during the research, and the number of leaves and flowers was recorded once a week. After the study, fresh overhead mass, root mass, plant height, number of leaves and of branches were measured. Results of this research show that irrigation had a significant impact (p < 0.01) on growth and development of petunia and that the increase in irrigation rate leads to an increase in the tested variables.