Rodrigo Thibes Hoshino

UEL 8: nova cultivar de Dendrobium

UEL 8 is a cultivar of Dendrobium nobile developed in the Department of Agronomy, Universidade Estadual de Londrina resulting from the crossing of matrix plants D7 and D14 selected by the size of the flowers that have intense and uniform flowering. The plants were artificially pollinated and the seeds sown in vitro. The cultivar has flowers of purple color, and the lip on the lower portion presents the same shade of the other whorls, the middle part is white and the inner part presents a deep purple color, dark and velvety texture. The pseudobulb has on average 34 flowers with a life span of about 20 days.

Plant development and nutrient uptake rate in Dendrobium nobile Lindl

Abstract Dendrobium nobile Lindl. is one of the most cultivated and distributed orchids around the world; however, information on its nutrition is scarce. Our objective was to study the plant development and nutrient accumulation in plants of D. nobile weekly fertilized with 100 mL Sarruge nutrient solution at 75% concentration. One plant per replication was randomly collected every month, along 12 months, totaling four plants. Dry matter (DM) and nutrient accumulation were determined for the different plant parts. Plants had already accumulated nearly 50% of total DM up to the flowering stage (240 days after first fertilization, DAFF). Order and amount of accumulated nutrients, at 360 DAFF, was, in mg per plant: K (701.07) > N (339.44) > Ca (289.03) > Mg (135.44) > P (118.83) > S (23.56); in µg per plant, it was Fe (14,122.35) > Zn (5,277.82) > Mn (3,216.87) > B (1,253.02) > Cu (271.25).