SAP IONIC BALANCE IN TWO CARNATION CULTIVARS GROWN UNDER A FERTIGATION SYSTEM

Two carnation cultivars (Barbara and Starlight) were grown under a fertigation system in order to know the level of sap nutrients (NO^-₃-N; H₂PO^-₄-P; SO^2-₄-S; Cl^-; K⁺; Ca²⁺; Mg²⁺ and Na⁺) through the culture cycle. Both cultivars showed similar concentrations of NO^-₃-N, H₂PO^-₄-P and Cl^-, Starlight displayed lower contents of SO^2-₄-S than Barbara (105%). Moreover, Barbara and Starlight presented similar values of Na⁺ and Mg²⁺, Starlight showed the highest values of K⁺ and the lowest of Ca²⁺. Ionic balances clearly demonstrate the substantial variation between the cultivars studied. Finally, Starlight produced 97% more flower yield than Barbara. In our conditions, Starlight was more profitable.