Information on Brazilian Ornamental Species of the Genus Tillandsia L
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Information on Brazilian Ornamental Species of the Genus Tillandsia L. (Bromeliaceae) Maria Esmeralda Soares Payão Demattê CNPq. Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias/Unesp Departamento de Produção Vegetal, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, s/n CEP 14884-900, Jaboticabal, SP Brazil Keywords: Tillandsia dura, Tillandsia gardneri, Tillandsia geminiflora, Tillandsia stricta, Tillandsia tenuifolia, bromeliads. Abstract Bromeliads that accumulate water in the central part of the plant represent a risk of creating Aedes aegypti larvae. This feature has contributed to a decrease of consumption in the internal market and poor returns to growers. Tillandsia species do not accumulate water on leaves, and could be an interesting alternative for bromeliad growers. At the São Paulo State University, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil, some native Tillandsia species are being studied for their ornamental value: T. dura, T. gardneri, T. geminiflora, T. stricta and T. tenuifolia. The information provided is based on literature and on some unpublished experimental results obtained in studies on biometry, cultivation, growing media and fertilization. INTRODUCTION Some Bromeliaceae accumulate water in the central part of the crown formed by leaves, and for this reason they are considered as a favorable medium for development of Aedes aegypti larvae. The disease transmitted by this mosquito is presently a great problem in Brazil. As a consequence, the consumption of ornamental bromeliads has decreased dramatically, causing heavy losses for the growers. Cultivation of Tillandsia species could be an interesting alternative, because they do not accumulate water in a crown of leaves. Most Brazilian species of Tillandsia are not yet cultivated on a commercial scale. Cultural methods are not well defined, and are variable according to the species. Many experiments have been carried out on bromeliad fertilization, but results differ according to species and environmental factors. In the case of Tillandsia species, information is scarce. Tree fern fiber is still the basic material for the mixtures used as growing media for bromeliads (Andrade and Demattê, 1999). It is extracted from Dicksonia sellowiana Presl. Hook and other Brazilian endangered species. Some recent research data have indicated alternatives for the use of tree fern fiber, as coconut husk and Pinus bark (Demattê and Demattê, 1996; Demattê et al., 1997; Kanashiro, 1999; D’Andréa and Demattê, 2000; Demattê and Graziano, 2000). Tillandsia species are being studied at the São Paulo State University (Unesp), Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil. Studies are mainly focused on the possibility of growing these plants without use of tree fern fiber. The Tillandsia are called “atmospheric bromeliads”, because they absorb water and nutrients through trichomes that cover their leaves (Benzing et al., 1976), directly from the air, instead of obtaining them from the soil or from the organic material stored in the central part of most epiphytic bromeliads. Benzing and Renfrow (1980) consider that atmospheric bromeliads use their roots only for physical fixation on the substrate. Pagano and Sartori (1980) studied the annual variation of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in leaves of Tillandsia recurvata and T. pohliana growing on trunks of Eucalyptus tereticornis, at Rio Claro, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Based on the results, these authors put in relief the importance of dew as a supplier of water and nutrients. A study by Pagano and Gonçalves (1982) with Tillandsia usneoides growing on Eucalyptus citriodora, at Rio Claro, showed that nitrogen migrates from old to young Proc. Vth IS on New Flor. Crops Eds.: A.F.C. Tombolato and G.M. Dias-Tagliacozzo Acta Hort. 683, ISHS 2005 293 tissues when supply of this nutrient is insufficient, as during the dry season. Because of their peculiar mechanism of nutrient acquiring, the Tillandsia are possibly more sensitive to an excess of nutrients than species of other Bromeliaceae. Irmer et al. (1982) noticed toxicity symptoms of heavy metals in Tillandsia usneoides cultivated in greenhouse. Chemical analysis revealed high concentrations of zinc, cadmium and lead in the plants. Contamination occurred due to the use of acid rain water collected after contact with the metallic structure of the greenhouse. This paper gives information on five Brazilian epiphytic Tillandsia with ornamental value belonging to the collection of the Unesp. Information is based on literature, personal communications and experimental data obtained at Jaboticabal. MATERIALS AND METHODS Species surveyed in this paper are Tillandsia dura Baker, Tillandsia gardneri Lindl., Tillandsia geminiflora Brongn., Tillandsia stricta Sol. ex Sims, and Tillandsia tenuifolia L. (Fig. 1). Some of the given information was compiled from the literature. Information on botanical characteristics, main habitats and geographic distribution was based on Smith and Downs (1955 and 1977), Reitz (1983), Ehlers (1996) and Nunes (1997). Leaf dimension values were obtained by Mendonça (2002). The botanists and bromeliad experts Walter Till, Eric J. Gouda, and Orlando Graeff (pers. commun., 2001) advised on the growth habit of the studied species. Experimental data from unpublished studies still in course at the Experimental Nursery of Ornamental and Forest Plants, College of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University (Unesp), at Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil are included. The plants used in these experiments had been collected from the wild in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and were apprehended by authorities of the Brazilian government. These plants have been maintained under guard of the Orquidário Binot, at Petrópolis, RJ, and some lots of them were remanded to the College of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences of the Unesp. Experiments on biometry, phenology, cultivation, growing media and fertilization methods are being carried out in a greenhouse covered with a permeable shade screen. This protected environment is 70% shaded, resulting in a sunlight illuminance from 20,000 to 40,000 lux. Photoperiod varies from 10:50 to 13:26 hours. The local coordinates are 21o05’ to 21o20’ south latitude and 48o10’ to 48o30’ west longitude, at 560m of altitude. The regional climate is subtropical with rainy summer and dry winter. The mean of yearly total rainfall is approximately 1425mm (Universidade Estadual Paulista, 2003). The maximum and minimum temperatures at the shadehouse during the period of study were 42oC (February) and 5oC (June) respectively. The air relative humidity was always higher than 50%. In the areas where the plants were collected, the mean of air temperature ranges from 17,8 to 20oC, and the yearly total rainfall, from 2000 to 2500 mm or more at the highest altitudes; the air relative humidity is always higher than 80% (Brasilchannel, 2004; Trilharte, 2004). Plants were grown in plastic pots and in beds under irrigation provided by a sprinkler system during periods without rain, at three day intervals in winter (from June to August) and at two day intervals in the other months. The growing media evaluated for pot plants were: S1 = 45% tree fern fiber + 45% coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) husk + 10% humus; S2 = 45% coconut husk + 45% Pinus bark + 10% humus; S3 = substrate A-119 Amafibra (coconut husk + macro and micronutrients); S4 = substrate A-121 Amafibra (coconut husk). The coconut husk of S2, S3 and S4 substrates was shredded and cut in segments about 1.5cm long (S2) and 1.0cm long (S3 and S4). Physical and chemical properties of these substrates are presented in Table 1. The analyses were performed according to methods specific for substrates developed by de Soil and Plant Nutrition Department of the Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz” of the University of São Paulo (USP). Nutrients were provided on a monthly basis to the foliage as: A1 = NPK 2:1:4 294 with traces of Mg (0.5g of the mixture NPK + Mg per liter of water); A2 = NPK 2:1:4 with traces of Mg (0.5g of the mixture NPK + Mg per liter of water) + soluble humus (1.5g/20 L of water); A3 = soluble humus (1.5g/20 L of water); A4 = control without fertilizer application. Experimental data are presented for a 30 month (2001-2003) period of observations. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Baensch and Baensch (1994) suggested that pH values of the growing medium between 3.5 and 4.5 are ideal for bromeliads. Physical and chemical properties of the substrates compared in the experiments in course at the Unesp would be adequate under this point of view (Table 1). The analyses of the substrates (Table 1) revealed similar values for S3 and S4, except for sodium concentration, which was markedly higher in S3. The addition of macro and micronutrients to S3 substrate, mentioned by the fabricant company, did not result in higher concentrations of most analyzed nutrients. The slightly higher concentration of copper in S3 in comparison with S4 is not an advantage, because copper toxicity has being observed in bromeliads even at low levels of this micronutrient (Sociedade Brasileira de Bromélias, 2002). Sources of the following information about each species, according to the item, were: growth habit; habitat and geographic distribution – literature; habitat of the studied genotype – literature and personal communication; local adaptation (at Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil) for cultivation in protected environment, water requirement, growth rate, plant size, flowering period, adequate growing medium for pot plants and recommended method of fertilization – experimental