CROP RESPONSE OF GREENHOUSE ROSE PLANTS IN SICILY: EFFECTS OF GROWING SYSTEMS, SUBSTRATES AND NATURAL PRODUCTS

In Sicily (South Italy), in the last decades an increase of greenhouse rose cultivation (from 90 to 180 ha) has been registered, related to favorable climatic conditions allowing a year-round production of cut flowers and strong reduction of heating costs. Nevertheless, the diffusion of soilless culture is currently limited because of high costs, difficulty on management and lack of uniform growing protocol. In order to improve technical and scientific knowledge for local growers, our institution has carried out some studies on rose in hydroponics. In this paper, results of three experiments are reported: 1) a productive comparison of six cultivars grown in soil and in containers, 2) an evaluation of different substrates and varieties in soilless culture, 3) the application of natural products for the control of powdery mildew disease as alternative to the traditional chemical compounds.