tropical flowers
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Potted cultivation of tropical flowers presents good projections for the northeastern region of Brazil; however, it still faces some peculiarities regarding conduction and management. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of tillering on the production of Heliconia psittacorum L.f. cv. Red Opal, grown in flowerpot. The experiment was carried out in a protected environment at the Campus of Agricultural Sciences (CCA) of UNIVASF, Petrolina - PE, Brazil, between 2014 and 2016. A completely randomized design was used, with four tiller densities per pot (4, 8, 12 and 16 tillers) and eight replications, totaling 32 plots. The irrigation system was automated and monitored by weighing lysimetry. Were evaluated: efficiency of water use (EUA); harvested flower stems (HC); ratio of harvested stems and number of tillers (HC / NP); number of leaves (NF); duration of vegetative (DFV) and productive phases (DFP); total cycle (CT); floral stem length (CHF); floral stem diameter (DH), bracts length (CB) and equivalent diameter of the collar (DECH). The results were subjected to regression test. The EUA was higher in the density of 16 tillers pot-1; the HC variable presented an increasing linear trend; a decreasing linear trend was detected for HC/NP, NF, DFP, DH, CB and DECH. The number of tillers in the pot does not limit the emission of floral stems. However, the quality of these is inversely proportional to the tiller density.

Production and commercialization of tropical flowers and plants has grown in recent years, mainly due to the increasing value of these products in temperate climate countries, such as heliconia, one of the most cultivated tropical ornamental plants in Brazil. This study was developed to determine the effect of lime applications on the nutrients in heliconia plants (Heliconia psittacorum L. × Heliconia sparthocircinata Arist. [cv. Golden Torch]) cultivated in yellow latosol in a greenhouse. The macronutrient levels in the leaves, pseudostem and roots of the heliconia plants were determined after cultivating the plants in containers with a medium texture, yellow latosol, collected from the 0 to 20 cm layer and submitted to doses of 0, 0.9, 2.6, 4.2 and 5.9 t of lime ha-1. Nitrogen and phosphorous performed better in the absence of the correction and in the 0.9 t ha-1 dose for the vegetative parts of the heliconia plants. The application of dolomitic lime promoted greater absorption of potassium, calcium and magnesium, and sulfur performed better for the doses 2.6 and 5.9 t of lime ha-1, for the pseudostem and roots, respectively.

The Brazilian flora has a large number of species with ornamental potential. These species are poorly recognized or even completely unexplored. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential use of four accessions belonging to the species of Anthurium plowmanii, A. raimundii, A. bonplandii and A. Affine for cutting foliage. The accessions from Embrapa Germplasm Bank of Tropical flowers were evaluated for 21 morphological and phenological characteristics and post-harvest longevity. The ornamental characterization was based on the evaluation of this data and florist acceptance as well. The accessions presented differences in almost all the characteristics related to the morphology of the inflorescence and the leaf. Some characteristics such: fruit color, petiole, spadix, and spathe length, are highly variable within the species and depend on the developmental stage. Some characters like petiole length and inflorescence position are particularly important as indicators for the use as cut foliage. The plants have slow development as typical from members of this family and and the production of leaves per year ranged between 6.6 (A. plowmanii) to 10.5 (A. bonplandii), which might be increased with the improvement of cultivation aspects, with an emphasis on spacing, plant management and fertilization. The leaves of Anthurium plowmanii, A. raimundii, A. bonplandii and A. affine present high postharvest durability and great potential as cut foliage, possessing florist acceptance as well.

Considering the growing economic importance of tropical flowers and the advantages of techniques applied to the in vitro cultivation of these plants, it is necessary to carry out studies to evaluate growth in species such as Heliconia latispatha. The aim of this study therefore, was to evaluate in vitro shoot induction for different concentrations of BAP and NAA and as a function of the photoperiod. Explants from zygotic embryos were inoculated in MS medium containing different concentrations of BAP (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 or 2.5 mg L-1), with the cultures kept in a growth room at a temperature of 24.0 ± 2.0° C, under a photoperiod of 12 and 16 hours of light and a light intensity of 30 μmol m-2 s-1. At 21, 28, 35, 42 and 49 days after inoculation, the number of shoots per explant was evaluated. The treatment at the BAP concentration that gave the best multiplication rate (2.5 mg L-1) was set, and was tested in a further trial with different concentrations of NAA (0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0 6, 0.8 or 1.0 mg L-1) under the same conditions as the previous experiment. The experimental designs were completely randomised, with five replications, and analysed in a 6 x 2 factorial. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and regression. No significant differences were seen in relation to the photoperiod or its interaction with the cytokinin and auxin under test. Multiplication was greater in the presence of 2.5 mg L-1 BAP, which gave a rate of 1.25 shoots/explant at 49 days of in vitro culture. The association of this BAP dosage with 1.0 mg L-1 NAA was even more efficient, producing 1.83 shoots per explant at 30 days of growth. The use of BAP together with NAA is beneficial to the induction of shoots in H. latispatha.

The climatic characteristics of the country favor the cultivation of tropical flowers. The continued expansion of this market is due the beauty, exoticit nature and postharvest longevity of flower. However, little is known about the postharvest of tropical plants. Therefore, this paper provides information on harvest, handling and storage of cut tropical plantspostharvest, storage temperature, conditioning solution.

Tropical Flowers: Romancing the North in Early Female Fiction and Poetry.[PowerPoint Presentation]

The large ornamental potential of tropical flowers has stimulated the commercial cultivation of various species. Micropropagation is a viable alternate method of propagation, since it enables obtaining a higher number of seedlings with uniformity and pathogens free. The objective was to evaluate the in vitro multiplication rate of Etlingera elatior cv. Porcelana, using explants obtained from in vitro established seedling shoots, obtained from the 2nd subcultive. The explants were inoculated in MS culture medium containing different concentrations of BAP (0.0; 2.22; 4.44; 6.66; 8.88; and 11,10 μM), and the cultures maintained in a growth room with temperature 25.0 ± 2.0 °C under a photoperiod of 12 hours of light and light intensity of 30 μmol.m-2 s-1. The multiplication rate was monthly, according to the four subcultives, totaling 120 days. The experimental design was completely randomized, with four replications, analyzed in a factorial 4 x 6. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and regression. There were significant differences in subcultives and made for BAP concentrations used. For the first subcultive, the concentration of 2.22 μM of BAP afforded a rate of 4.06 sprouts per explant, already in the second and fourth subcultives, with the addition of cytokinin concentration was increased amount of sprouts reaching at a rate of 4.05 and 4.96 shoots/explant in the highest concentration of BAP. The results of the treatments evaluated indicate that the presence of BAP favored sprout emission. The concentrations of 2.22, 8.88 and 11.10 μM this cytokinin promoted the highest multiplication rates in the first, second and fourth subcultives, respectively.