Gerbera is one of the several cultivated species of economic importance to agriculture. This is a plant with good durability, resistance to transport and high appreciation by consumers. However, despite the expansion of commercial production of flowers and ornamental plants, research has not grown at the same rate, especially with regard to nutrition and fertilization. The content and accumulation of macronutrients were evaluated in plants of gerbera in two growth stages (vegetative and reproductive), using different concentrations of potassium in the nutrient solution and two sources (chloride and silicate). The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse of the Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, Brazil. The experimental design was of randomized blocks, with a 2x5 factorial scheme, comprising two sources of potassium (silicate and chloride) with five concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg L-1 of potassium, in nutrient solution), four replications and five plants per plot. The gerbera cultivar used was Red, with dark center, for growing in vase. The levels of macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S) were accessed on leaves during the vegetative period and leaves and flowers (inflorescence + stem) on the end of the reproductive period. The accumulation was obtained through the multiplication of the nutrient content with the dry weight of the same ones and the total accumulation was obtained by the sum of accumulation on leaves and flowers (inflorescence + stem). Potassium silicate promoted greater content and accumulation of nutrients in leaves without a distinctive dose. The descending order for the absorption of nutrients of the gerbera plants was K>N>Ca>Mg>P>S for chloride and potassium silicate on the end of the vegetative and reproductive period for leaves and total accumulation. In the reproductive period the order of absorption was K>N>P>Ca>S>Mg for the both sources used.
Gerbera jamesonii; plant nutrition; absorption; nutrient
