The bromeliads present exotic forms with a great variety of colors and flowers and are considered as important species used in landscape design and floriculture. As a consequence, these species are well commercialized. However, a part of these plants still come from natural extraction. This situation is also a consequence of the reduced technical information regarding its propagation and development. One of the limitations is the lack of knowledge regarding the type of substrate and adequate fertilizer for its cultivation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the development of Neoregelia cultivated in different substrates and leaf fertilizers through the variables height, leaf number and fresh and dry matter of shoots and roots. The plantlets used were produced by tissue culture. After a period of pre-acclimatization, the plantlets were transferred to a green house without nebulization. The substrates consisted of different proportions of soil, sand and carbonized rice husk and a commercial substrate composed of vermiculite. Leaf fertilizers were applied to the substrates combining urea and sucrose in intervals of fifteen days. The results showed that the interactions of the substrates and the sucrose and urea dosages had no effect on height and leaf number. The use of sucrose also showed no influence on plant development. The commercial substrate composed of vermiculite, independent of the leaf fertilizer application, showed the best results for plant height and leaf number. The use of urea presented a crescent linear effect during the evaluated period.
Bromeliaceae; urea; sucrose
