Decorative pot bougainvillea by pruning and PP-333 applications

Abstract EN

Potted –bougainvillea plants too tall if not checked, so pruning and growthretarding paclobutrazol (PP-333) application are used to limit this growth to produce an acceptable and compacted foliage growth covered with dense flowers for a long periods to be a show pot-plant.

Plants were pruned to have one or two branches (30 cm long) and sprayed twice with PP-333 at 0, 500 or 1000ppm.

Results indicated that the plant with one-branch showed a slight increase in height and significantly increased shoot length up to 24% higher than with twobranches.

The later recorded an opposite trend as resulted in higher branch number per plant up to 14.6% over the plant have one-branch.

Meanwhile, number of leaves and their areas were not affected.

Although number of flower bracts were not affected by branch number, the plant with one-branch significantly increased their fresh weight was 60% higher than with two-branches.

Spraying with PP-333 significantly decreased plant height, shoot length and leaf area with increasing its concentration; thus the great reductions occurred by 1000ppm were 31.8, 51 and 49% lower than control, respectively.

The increase in shoot number was apparently associated with PP-333 at 500ppm, but leaf formation was greatly increased with either 500 or 1000ppm.

The first produced higher number and heavier fresh weight of flower bracts almost were 33 and 63% higher than a concentration of 1000ppm, respectively.

Chlorophylls (a&b) and total carbohydrates content in leaves were greatly accumulated by raising the branching and PP-333 concentration.

The interaction effects among treatments declared that the best combination was resulted from the plants with twobranches sprayed twice with PP-333 at 500ppm that led to control the growth habit without losing its ability to grow.