Color x Phosphorus Interactions in Greenhouse Grown Annual Statice (Limonium sinuatum L.)

Reducing phosphorus inputs can be an effective method to reduce phosphorus runoff and increase profitability of crops if optimal phosphorus requirements can be determined. In order to test our hypothesis that phosphorus levels required for maximum flower production are dependent on flower color we grew white, apricot, purple, yellow, rose, and blue flowering varieties of  statice (Limonium sinuatum)  under 6 phosphorus fertilization regiments (1, 2.4, 5.8, 13.8, 33.2, and 79.6 mg P L^-1).  For those yield parameters which had significant ANOVA models, stem number, total stem mass, and average stem mass, color was a significant main effect (p≥0.0062). In addition a significant color x phosphorus level interaction for stem number (p=0.0427) was observed. If the cultivar-specific trends we report here in phosphorus requirement, hold true for other statice varieties, it suggests that in protected culture, solution phosphorus fertilization could be reduced for the yellow, rose and white varieties, and for field culture, these colors could be grown on less fertile soils or with reduced fertilizer phosphorus. In either case, the economic and ecological benefit would be positive.