Abstract

AREVALO, Gabriel Alexander; IBARRA, Daniel  and  FLOREZ, Víctor Julio. Disbudding of floral bud at different developmental stages of standar carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) var. Nelson. Agron. colomb. [online]. 2007, vol.25, n.1, pp.73-82. ISSN 0120-9965.

In standard carnations, the largest production costs are associated with the labor required to carry out all the tasks for the crop, where disbudding is one that demands the most labor and time use. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of disbudding of the main bud at different developmental stages on production and postharvest quality of standard carnation variety Nelson at the first harvest peak. Disbudding was evaluated at developmental stages known commonly as ´bud pea´, ´chickpea´, ´barrel´, ´star point´, ´bullet´, and ´cut point´. The variables evaluated included total production at the first harvest peak, quality degrees, and some classification criteria at postharvest. Based on the results, it was concluded that disbudding of the main floral bud at different developmental stages did not significantly influence total production at first harvest. However, in quality grades of classification, significant differences were observed, where disbudding at bud ´pea´, ´chickpea´ and ´barrel´ had higher averages in the number of stalks for the grade ´select´, while disbudding at bud ´star point´, ´bullet´, and ´cut point´ reflected their highest averages on grades ´fancy´, standard and national. Disbudding at different developmental stages of the main floral bud affected mainly the number of bent flowering stems, without increasing significantly the number of weak stalks. The trial allowed defining the developmental stages of main floral bud prior to ´barrel´ stage as a critical phase for the disbudding, when one performed after this point of time decreases the quality of the product.

Keywords : cut flowers; cultural labors; production; grades of quality; classification criteria.

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