Efecto de productos homeopáticos en el crecimiento y la floración deAphelandra squarrosa var. snowflake (Acanthaceae)* Effect of homeopathic products in the growth and flowering of Aphelandra squarrosa var. snowflake (Acanthaceae) ResumenLas hormonas sintéticas son de uso común entre los productores de plantas ornamentales; sin embargo son de costo elevado, se requiere asesoría para su aplicación y causan efectos adversos al cultivo, ambiente y productor lo que incentiva a buscar alternativas capaces de influir en el crecimiento y floración de la planta, por lo que en el municipio de Zihuateutla, Puebla, México, se aplicaron 14 productos homeopáticos en 2013 para reducir el tamaño de la planta e inducir floración en plantas de afelandra blanca Aphelandra squarrosa var. snowflake (Acanthaceae). Se suministraron como agua de riego a esquejes sembrados en macetas, aplicando 250 mL cada 15 d por cinco veces. A los 90, 120 y 150 d después de la siembra de los esquejes se registró la altura de planta, número de hojas, diámetro del tallo y anchura de planta. El tiempo a floración se consignó desde la primera flor formada hasta los 150 d después de la siembra. Los datos se analizaron con estadística no paramétrica, usando la prueba de rangos de Kruskal-Wallis sin encontrar significancia en altura de la planta, número de hojas y anchura de la planta. En diámetro de tallo, calcárea carbónica 204 CH, Floral 30 CH, PFP 180 CH y bonzi lo disminuyeron significativamente a los 120 d después de la AbstractSynthetic hormones are commonly used among producers of ornamental plants; however, they are costly, advice for application is required and cause adverse effects to the cultivation, environment and the producer, encouraging to seek alternatives capable of influencing the growth and flowering of the plant, so that, in the municipality of Zihuateutla, Puebla, Mexico, 14 homeopathic products were implemented in 2013 to reduce the size of the plant and induce flowering plants of white afelandra Aphelandra squarrosa var. snowflake (Acanthaceae IntroducciónEl estado de Puebla se encuentra entre los tres principales productores de plantas ornamentales en México (ChalateMolina et al., 2008), destacando en la zona de Zihuateutla la afelandra Aphelandra squarrosa (Acanthaceae)-la escritura de los nombres científicos y de las familias se tomó de Tropicos (2014)-, una planta de interior con hojas verdes, y nervaduras blancas en el envés e inflorescencia amarilla, con dos variedades; la apolo, de color verde, y la snowflake de color blanca.La afelandra blanca, la de mayor demanda por presentar nervaduras blancas que cubren gran parte de la hoja, emite la flor de manera natural a los ocho meses, por lo que se usan reguladores de crecimiento organosintéticos para reducir el porte de la planta y propiciar inducción y diferenciación floral prematura, ocasionando incremento en el costo de producción, contaminación al ambiente, desequilibrio en el ecosistema, y acumulación de residuos químicos en la planta principalmente (Pastor, 2009).Entre l...

The efficacy of Prohexadione-Ca on vegetative and reproductive parameters was tested for 3 years on three apple cultivars (Golden Delicious, Braeburn, and Fuji) at concentrations ranging from 125 up to 350 ppm. The Prohexadione-ca was applied after shoots reached 5 cm length, for 1 month. In all cases, Prohexadione-Ca reduced shoot growth, showed the tendency to increase fruit size and to enhance return bloom. In addition, it increased leaf coloration and higher chlorophyll content, and it induced higher photosynthetic efficiency than the control. The relationships among shoot reduction, chlorophyll content and photosynthetic efficiency are discussed. Experiments were carried out for 3 years on 'Gala' and 'Fuji' apple cultivars. The efficacy of the compounds applied during blooming (ATS, Armothin) and at 10 mm king fruit diameter (BA, CPPU, and NAA) was studied. Results showed a poor efficacy of the chemicals applied during bloom, while compounds applied at fruit set showed interesting results. Among the new chemicals, citokinins were the most effective, although their effects were related to the cultivar: BA performs better than CPPU on 'Fuji' while vice versa on 'Gala'. In addition, both chemicals induced a slightly higher °Brix content, and acidity level showed the tendency to increase L/D ratio of the fruits as compared to controls. Fruit thinning and the strategies to enhance fruit size are applied early in the season and the problem remains, to assess their effectiveness as early as possible in order to adapt the management techniques (e.g., further thinning, if applicable, or fine-tuning of nutrition and irrigation, etc.) to enable the fruit to reach their maximum potential development. A modelling approach proposed by Lakso et al. (1995) postulates that apples grow in weight according to an equation termed "expolinear" (Goudriaan and Monteith, 1990) because after an initial phase of exponential growth (cell division), the apple enters a phase of linear growth (cell expansion) lasting up to harvest. The effectiveness of a thinning agent can therefore be evaluated-and explained-in terms either of the number of cells of the cortex tissue, or of their volume, or both. In addition, assessing the slope of the linear phase as early as possible might provide a prediction tool to evaluate size at harvest. This paper presents data from apple thinning trials on several cultivars. The effectiveness of these applications has been evaluated via an analysis of the cell parameters (number, volume and intercellular spaces) of the fruit's parenchyma cortex tissue. Also, fruit growth data have been used to test the possibility to predict fruit size at harvest once the fruit reaches the phase of linear growth. 'Golden Delicious' apples (Malus xdomestica Borkh.) were pressure-infiltrated after harvest with 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, or 4% CaCl 2 solutions (w/v) and the chemical composition of the cell wall of the cortical tissue 2 to 4 mm under the epidermis was studied. The mineral composition of the control cell wall (0% CaCl 2 ) was...

No abstract