Investigating the amounts of chemical fertilizers of cut flowers and calcium nitrate on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of hybrid roses.

Rose (Rosa hybrid, L.) has a special place in the Iranian floriculture industry. Since ancient times, nutrition in hydroponic cultivation has been one of the most important limiting factors in the growth and development of many crops in the world. This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different amounts of special chemical fertilizers for cut flowers and calcium nitrate on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Rose hybrid cultivar (High Magic) under soilless cultivation conditions. This research was conducted in October 2011 in the greenhouse of Shahrekord University. Plants were fed with Hydroflex® F chemical fertilizer at levels of (500, 900, and 1300) mg/L and calcium nitrate at levels of (500, 700, 900, and 1100) mg/L. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The factors evaluated included branch length, branch diameter, and weight. The fresh and dry weight of the branch, fresh weight of the cut flower branch, bud diameter, flowering time, number of cut flower branches, vase life, total chlorophyll content, percentage of calcium, nitrogen and magnesium. The results showed that the concentrations of Hydroflex® compared to the control caused a significant increase in branch diameter, fresh and dry weight of the branch, weight of the cut flower branch. cut flower branch, cut flower branch, flowering time, pot life, and the percentage of calcium and magnesium. Also, calcium nitrate treatment increased the factors branch length, branch diameter, fresh and dry branch weight, and weight‏ The cut flower branch moisture, bud diameter, number of cut flower branches, vase life, and calcium percentage, and reduced magnesium percentage. The interaction effect of treatments also caused a significant increase in total chlorophyll content. Also, the interaction effect of both treatments on nitrogen percentage was not significant. Overall, the results of this study showed that both treatments improved most growth indices.