Seasonal changes in the nutritional status and yielding of Anthurium cultorum Birdsey. Part I. Macroelements

The aim of the research, which was carried out in the years 2002 − 2004, was the determination of the natural tendencies in the macroelement nutritional status and in the yielding of the standard cultivars of Anthurium cultorum Birdsey (‘Baron’, ‘Choco’, ‘Midori’, ‘Pistache’, ‘President’, ‘Tropical’ from Anthura B.V., the Netherlands) in the autumn-winter and spring-summer vegetations periods. The anthurium was grown in expanded clay with the use of standard nutrients in a drip fertigation system. It was found that an improvement of light conditions caused a significant increase in plant yielding. During the three years of the study, it was found that an essential influence was exerted by the vegetation period on the amount of phosphorus and potassium in the plants’ leaves. In the spring-summer period, a considerable decrease of phosphorus content in the plants was observed, but at the same time, there was an increase of potassium content. In the springsummer period, plant age affected the phosphorus and calcium content of the plants, while in the autumn-winter period, the phosphorus, potassium and calcium content was affected. A decrease in calcium, nitrogen and magnesium content was found in the spring-summer period, while the content of sulphur tended to increase. The obtained results could be a valuable instrument for the interpretation of index parts of plant analyses for diagnostic purposes.