The influence of substrate type on the morphological and ornamental characteristics of some cultivars of Ipomoea batatas grown in pots

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of the type of substrate on the morpho-decorative characters of three ornamental cultivars of Ipomoea batatas ('Heart Bronze', 'Black', 'Heart Lime') grown in pots. Four types of substrates were used, resulting from the mixing of various components (garden soil + peat; garden soil + peat + hydrogel; garden soil + peat + coconut fiber; garden soil + peat + coconut fiber + hydrogel). The results showed that the substrate composed of garden soil and peat favored, in all three cultivars studied, the increase in stem length and the number of leaves/plant, while in the cultivars ‘Black’ and ‘Heart Lime’, it also determined the increase in the degree of stem branching. The degree of stem branching was less influenced by the substrate, but it was dependent on the cultivar. The worst results were obtained in plants grown in a mixture composed of garden soil + peat + coconut fiber + hydrogel. Regarding the cultivars, ‘Heart Bronze’ stood out with a larger number of branches and leaves, and ‘Heart Lime’ with longer branches.