2014 ASHS Annual Conference

Our hypothesis was that the combinations of organic and inorganic substrates improve the growth of Christ thorn slips grown under greenhouse conditions. The aim of this research was to determine the combinations of organic and inorganic substrates to improve the grow slips of Christ thorn (Euphorbia milli var. Splendens). Combinations of organic and inorganic substrates were mixed to prepare 10 treatments. Vermicompost, compost, uncured rum, pumice stone, coconut fiber powder, sawdust, and a check (sand). About 410 g of the combinations were deposited in 1 Kg plastic containers. The vegetative material used were slips of Christ thorn collected from nurseries in Colima, México. The basal part of the Christ thorn slips were impregnated with a rooting solution of Enraizador Plus™, and then the slips were planted in plastic containers with 4 inches of diameter containing each of the combinations of substrates. The combinations were distributed in a Complete randomized design with ten treatments and four replications, each replication had three containers. The variables evaluated were: fresh and dry weights of the plants. They were recorded and the data were processed for ANOVA and the means were separated by Tukey test (p≤ 0.05). The hypothesis was supported with our results. The combination of uncured rum 30%, coconut fiber powder 40%, and sand 30% produced the highest fresh, and dry weights (34.5, and 4.5 g, respectively); meantime, the combinations of uncrured rum 30%, pumic stone 40%, and sand 30% produced the highest dry weights (4.6 g). Lower, but not statistically different values were also obtained with the combination of vermicompost 30%, coconut fiber powder 40%, and sand of river 30% in fresh and dry weights (27.2, and 2.6 g, respectively).