Influence of urban waste compost media and paclobutrazol drenches on impatiens growth
1998
Klock, K.A.
Bedding plant growers have the opportunity to utilize urban waste compost in their growing media, but variation in substrates that constitute the compost could influence the efficacy of growth regulator drenches. This experiment investigated the effect of 0%, 30%, 60%, and 100% compost made from biosolids and yard trimmings on the efficacy of a paclobutrazol drench on Impatiens wallerana Hook.f. 'Accent Red'. Paclobutrazol was applied at a.i. drench rates of 0, 0.016, 0.032, 0.060, or 0.125 mg/pot. Growth of control plants (0 mg) increased linearly as the percentage of compost in the medium increased from 0% to 100%. Growth of plants in all media decreased as paclobutrazol concentration increased to approximately 0.016 mg with no further decreases at higher concentrations. The efficacy of paclobutrazol varied with the medium. For example, paclobutrazol at 0.016 mg reduced shoot dry mass by 31% relative to control plants in the presence of 100% compost but only 17% in the absence of compost. The percentage of growth reduction, relative to control plants, increased as the percentage of compost in the medium increased.
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