Nutrition and quality in ornamental plants

Abstract

The visual quality of ornamental plants is necessarily linked to an adequate balance of nutrients. Plant height, shape and coloration are qualitative aspects of ornamental species, directly influenced by mineral nutrition, among other environmental aspects. The nutritional requirements of ornamental species are not yet well established, often resulting in inefficient use of chemical and organic fertilizers, without respecting the needs of each species as well as the proper time for application. This leads to the low quality of the final product, as well as high production costs, which justifies the importance of a nutritional knowledge of the species. In addition to plant nutrients, some elements not considered essential, such as silicon, may provide improvements in the quality of certain species, including ornamental plants. In this sense, this paper aims to compile information on the use of nutrients for ornamental species in order to contribute to the knowledge of the principal aspects of plant quality as relates to mineral nutrition.