Effects of Irrigation, Peat-Alternative Substrate and Plant Habitus on the Morphological and Production Characteristics of Sicilian Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) Biotypes Grown in Pot

Abstract

Irrigation and growing substrate are considered as essential cultivation practices in order to obtain good productive and qualitative performance of potted rosemary plants. In pot growing, the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the substrate must be stable over time in order to allow regular plant growth. However, the effects of cultivation techniques on the characteristics of potted rosemary are little known. Peat is traditionally used as the organic growing medium; however, despite numerous advantages, its use has determined a degradation of peatlands in the northern hemisphere and an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of irrigation and peat-alternative substrates on the morphological, aesthetic and production characteristics of potted Sicilian rosemary biotypes with different habitus types. Two years, two different irrigation levels, three peat-alternative substrates and three types of rosemary plant habitus were tested in a split-split-split-plot design for a four-factor experiment. The results highlight that irrigation and substrate determined significant differences for all tested parameters. Rosemary plants demonstrated the best performances when irrigation was more frequent; vice versa, the greatest percent content in essential oil was obtained when irrigation events were less frequent. The chemical–physical characteristics of peat-alternative substrates changed with decreases in the peat content and increases in the compost content. The erect habitus biotype showed the best adaptation capacity to the various treatments. Our results suggest that irrigation and peat-alternative substrates significantly affect the growth of rosemary plants and should, therefore, be taken into consideration in order to improve the cultivation of this species in pots for ornamental purposes.

Response of Interspecific Geraniums to Waste Wood Fiber Substrates and Additional Fertilization

“…The search for and improvement of eco-friendly methods of plant cultivation have become the most important tasks for modern horticultural production [8,9]. One important factor in cultivation of potted plants is growing substrate.…”

Iron Chelate Improves Rooting in Indole-3-Butyric Acid-Treated Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Stem Cuttings

“…Because of its hardiness under environmental stress, it is also used to protect against soil erosion and is planted in firedamaged areas. Rosemary is a medicinal species that contains polyphenols, resulting in a number of pharmacological effects, including antioxidant, antitumor, antidiabetic and antibacterial ones [27][28][29]. Rosemary plants can be propagated by seed and stem cuttings, but propagation from seeds is rarely used, because of the long times needed for blooming and germination and the low germination rates (10-20%) [30,31].…”

First Steps toward a Test Procedure to Identify Peat Substitutes for Growing Media by Means of Chemical, Physical, and Biological Material Characteristics

“…Recently, peatlands came into focus in the light of climate conservation due to the large stocks of carbon contained in peatlands. At present, several peat substitutes are already under use such as coconut fibers, wood fibers, compost, and many other [5][6][7][8][9][10]. However, there are constraints for each of these peat substitutes that limit their usage in large quantities, or the available amounts of these peat substitutes are limited (e.g.…”