Morphophysiological quality of seedlings and grafted peach trees: effects of nutrient solution and substrates.

This study aimed to verify the influence of different substrates with and without addition of nutrient solution on the production of the rootstock cultivar Capdeboscq and grafted peach plants of 'Chimarrita' scion. In the first experiment, the height and stem diameter of the rootstocks were evaluated every two weeks, up to 90 days after transplanting. At 90 days after transplanting, dry weight of shoots and roots, total dry mass and Dickson Quality Index were evaluated. In the second experiment, seedlings of 'Capdeboscq' were grafted with 'Chimarrita' scion. The growth of the scions and the percentage of living grafts were evaluated. At 146 days after transplanting, the stem diameter of the scions, the SPAD index, the chlorophyll and nitrogen balance index were evaluated. The largest stem diameter for 'Capdeboscq' was obtained with substrate 35% sand + 15% soil + 50% bovine manure (5.53 mm); 75% sand + 25% soil (5.47 mm) and 100% sand (5.23 mm) with addition of nutrient solution. The best morphophysiological characteristics of 'Chimarrita' plants grafted on 'Capdeboscq' seedlings was obtained with the use of substrates 75% sand + 25% soil and 35% sand + 15% soil + 50% bovine manure, whose plants reached a morphological standard for sale, in just four and a half months days after transplanting, that is 56 days after grafting.