IMPACT OF ORNAMENTAL NATIVE PLANTS IN THE ARGENTINEAN FLORICULTURE SECTOR: A FIELD TRIAL SURVEY ON CALIBRACHOA SELECTED CLONES.

VILLANOVA I.; SOTO S.; BORJA M.; PANNUNZIO M.J.; COVIELLA A.; HAGIWARA J.; BOLOGNA P.; FACCIUTO G.; IMHOF L.

ACTA HORTICULTURAE

ISHS

Lugar: bruselas; Año: 2009 vol. 813 p. 285 - 292

0567-7572

Nowadays, the garden performance trials are a succesful experience in the global greenhouse industry to test and promote floriculture crops in different regions where the garden performance of annual bedding plants may vary. Following this goal in the floriculture industry, the breeding program of the Floriculture Institute in Argentina, decided in 2003 to evaluate performance of potential ornamental native plants as annual bedding plants. This was the first experience made in the country. In 2005, the field trial was first opened to specialized public – landscapers, nursery growers, researchers, floriculture tecnicians-  to promote native plants as a floriculture product and to measure the public preferences.  In order to reach the last objective, the first annual field trial day was organized in Buenos Aires, the most important production province in Argentina. The assistants to the event participated filling a preference survey form of the selected clones shown. Finally in 2006, another challenge was encouraged: to evaluate the same selected clones under different weather and soil conditions. Then, the second field trial day took place in two provinces: Córdoba and Buenos Aires in november and december and twenty two Calibrachoa selected clones were shown. The objectives of this research were: to evaluate the field performance of the accessions; to measure the impact in the  specialized  public of different grower regions and to promote native ornamental plants as a market product. One hundred and twenty five assistances evaluated three accessions features: quantity of flowers, showiness and compactness. The evaluation statistical method consisted in an ordinal scale for each feature. Based on this scale, a ranking of preference for the accessions was constructed. The results of the survey were a complementary tool to the breeding program to consider the public level of preferences in the selected material shown.