Paclobutrazol and Cytokinin to Produce Iris (Iris X hollandica Tub.) in Pots

Because of the increasing and diversified demand for potted plants, there is interest in Argentina in commercial iris production (Iris x hollandica Tub.). Two experiments were performed at the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), San Pedro Agricultural Experimental Station (33°41’ S, 59°41’ W), Buenos Aires Province. The effects of increasing concentrations of paclobutrazol (PBZ) and combinations of PBZ and 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) were compared. Height, length of the cycle and rate of flowering were registered. Experiment 1: the bulbs were subjected to immersion in nine concentrations of PBZ: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 or 80 mg L-1 for 24 h. Experiment 2: the bulbs were immersed in three concentrations of PBZ: 0, 10 or 20 mg L-1 for 24 h and then in BA solutions: 0 or 5 mg L-1 for 24 h. In both cases, the cultivars evaluated were ’Casablanca’ and ’Professor Blaauw’. The bulbs were planted immediately after the treatments in 1 L capacity and 12 cm height pots, on 22 July 2008. PBZ allowed for reducing height in all treated plants. A concentration of 20 mg L-1 would be sufficient to achieve harmonious plants with the containers used: 33 cm tall, average reduction of 41 to 44% compared to the respective control (57 cm). For this concentration, the delay in the duration of the cycle was minimal: 3 to 4 days. There was no effect of BA on the variables. The rate of flowering was not affected by the treatments.