The Effect of Population Density in the Yield of Two Varieties of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) Grown in Nayarit, Mexico

In Mexico, Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is a crop of increasing popularity for its medicinal properties. The objective was to determine the effect of population densities 8,000, 10,000, 13,333, and 20,000 plants per hectare on yield (dry weight of calyces) of China and UAN-6 varieties. This research was carried out during the spring–summer season of 2012 at northern Nayarit, Mexico. 'China' is widely used in western Mexico and 'UAN-6' is an outstanding experimental variety from the Roselle breeding program at the Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit. To achieve the evaluated population densities, the spacing between plants was 50, 75, 100, or 125 cm and the distance between rows was 1 m in all treatments. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with five replications. For 'China', the highest yield (1,253 kg·ha^-1) was obtained at a population density of 20,000 plants per hectare. For 'UAN-6', the highest yield was obtained with 13,000 plants per hectare (1,759 kg·ha^-1).